<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">December 6, 2005 -- RUBEN Patterson spent more time sprawled on the floor Sunday than on his feet in an unrestrained effort to gain the attention of prospective suitors. After seven games on the outs with Trail Blazer management, he returned rough 'n' ready to mix it up for a change with opponents instead of coach Nate McMillan. On a day Darius Miles was deactivated, perhaps indefinitely, due to damaged right knee, Ruben sandwiched 19 points, two rebounds, two assists and five turnovers around 27 minutes, but the 5-11 Blazers lost at home anyway to Utah. Their late fourth-quarter performance was so dreadful, Jazz owner Larry Miller jumped into Portland's huddle and into the faces of a few players. Before Patterson was allowed to suit up he had to abide by management's terms. He had to apologize to the team and come to grips with the reality that playing time isn't a given; minutes have to be earned in practice. It was further communicated to him by team president Steve Patterson and GM John Nash that McMillan solely determines the number of minutes he'll receive. Had Patterson refused to render his services, or go along with the Blazers' directive, he would have been suspended again. Any further outbursts will be met with suspension. Agent Dan Fegan, admittedly reluctant to make a financial settlement unless it's considerably in his client's favor, has been given permission to explore trade possibilities as long as they involve a similar ($6.1M/$6.8M) contract and equal talent. The Knicks, Rockets and Nuggets remain his best bets. Fegan recently suggested to me the Blazers would've been better off had they paid off Patterson ($13.1M) last summer instead of using their amnesty exception on Derek ($18.7M) Anderson. But, as anyone can plainly see, the difference is $5.6M. Then you've got to double that number due to luxury-tax implications. I suspect owner Paul Allen has better things to squander his billions on.</div> Source
