Notice Where does Damian Lillard fall among All-Time Trail Blazers backcourt greats?

It is my opinion that Roy pretty much saved this franchise from being moved - you could not give tickets to homeless people in the rain for a couple of years before he came. He was also a great guy from the limited experience I had with him - and was amazing in his ability to do stuff on the court. If that dude was healthy - he would have been a top-5 player in this league.

For me Roy will always be one of the greats, even if we were robbed of seeing him healthy.

 

In 08-09, he was universally acclaimed as a top 10 player. And what he was doing seemed like more than noise. That's a peak that's higher than pretty much everyone but Clyde.

How much do we weigh longevity?

 

Roy ABSOLUTELY quit on us. Then signed with a rival after his millions were in his pockets.

Aldridge gave the Blazers over a years notice

 

To me, it's Clyde #1, Dame #2, and Brandon # 3. When it's all said and done, I look for Dame to become the greatest Blazer ever.

 

Home run on your take

 

Well I just learned something new.
Adam Morrison is better than any Blazer ever because he has 2 championship rings.

Good talk.

 

Misguided take

 

Roy didn't quit on us. His knees quit on him.
Lest ye forget the amnesty rules?

Now stop revising history and acting like this didn't happen:

LaMarcus Aldridge says he's happy now with Blazers

He's the two-time All-Star who reportedly wanted out of this sleepy little city during the summer, and now he's the veteran leader of this team that is promising enough that he talks about it with a pleasant grin fixed on his face. So – in the name of knowing whether he's the next star who plans to force his way to a larger market – is he happy or not?

"I'm happy here right now," Aldridge told USA TODAY Sports while sitting on a bench inside the team's practice facility. "I feel like we have a team that can win, that can make noise, and I feel like if we buy in then anything is possible. So I'm happy, and it's still my team and I'm playing well.

"I feel like the team has jelled around me. I feel like coach (Terry Stotts) has trusted me more this year to where I'm getting different opportunities that I didn't get last year, so I think everything is going great right now."

The cynics in the crowd will focus on the fact that Aldridge said 'right now' twice as if it was a subconscious qualifier of sorts, and that's understandable given how the NBA culture programs us to assume young stars will long for the grass that isn't always greener. But that much notwithstanding, this much is clear: he's a whole lot happier now than he was at the end of last season.

In the here and now, Aldridge – who has two seasons and a combined $30 million left on his deal – said there is no desire to be traded or a request of any sort that general manager Neil Olshey move him to a better situation if that opportunity presents itself. And while rival front-office executives will certainly continue monitoring his situation, the league-wide belief is that he's going nowhere unless a proposal includes, among other things, an All-Star player in return. When asked what the current message to management is, Aldridge said, "It's not 'If there's a better deal, then get me out of (Portland) or take that. It's 'We're here. Let's win, and let's try to have the best season that we can.'"

The vast improvement in Aldridge's mood is not hard to understand. After seeing the Blazers falter so badly at the finish last season (they lost 13 consecutive games after starting 33-36), he wanted a veteran center to play alongside him rather than a fellow forward (6-foot-nine JJ Hickson started 80 games for Portland last season). Now, after the latest handy-work of the second-year Blazers general manager who did wonders turning the Clippers into contenders before coming to Portland, Aldridge shares the floor with sixth-year pro Robin Lopez (acquired from New Orleans in a three-team trade on July 4) and a British back-up big man in Joel Freeland who has impressed in the early going and beat second-year center Meyers Leonard for his role (Freeland was drafted 30th by the Blazers in 2006 but played internationally until returning last season).

After being such a big part of the Blazers teams that made the playoffs from 2009 to 2011, Aldridge quickly grew tired of the rebuilding route and was yearning for more of a veteran presence on the roster. On cue, Olshey – who was part of the team's makeover that included the addition of Stotts two summers ago – brought in the likes of Dorell Wright, Earl Watson and Mo Williams as free agents to help balance the youth movement headed by reigning Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard.

With every move, Aldridge's frustrations were allayed a little more.

"The team that we have now is a good balance of old and young, a good balance of hungry and – not satisfied – but hungry and older," said Aldridge, who is averaging 24.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game during the Blazers' 2-2 start that included wins vs. Denver and San Antonio after an opening-night loss to Phoenix and Tuesday night's loss to the Houston Rockets. "By 'hungry' I mean (players like) T-Rob (Thomas Robinson), who was a (No. 5) pick and he's trying to prove that he should be here (Robinson was traded to Portland from Houston on July 1).

"You've got (2012 second-round pick) Will Barton, who feels like he should be here. So these guys are really hungry. You have Joel Freeland, who was drafted in my draft and got sent overseas for five or six years, and he's here now and hungry trying to prove that he should be here. I think having that balance of these (players) who want to go out and kill it every night and prove some things has been good for me."

Meanwhile, the older additions came with a convenient ripple effect on the dynamic between Aldridge and Stotts that, he said, was at times difficult.

"I think having Terry adjust to having older players has been great too," Aldridge continued. "I feel like last year, we were so young that it was just too strict for me last year. I went from having (teammates in) Marcus Camby, Andre Miller and Gerald Wallace – (players) who coaches know that those guys are pros so it wasn't as strict – to having this really young team last year where everything was just so strict that I didn't know how to handle it. But this year I feel like coach is giving us a little bit more leeway of (saying) 'I have veterans now,' so it's been good for me."

Stotts, the former Milwaukee Bucks head coach who was a trusted assistant under Rick Carlisle in Dallas when he was hired as Blazers coach, is convinced Aldridge is content again.

"He's playing at a very high level," Stotts said. "He's certainly in a rhythm. I think he appreciates the roster moves that we made and knows that we're going to be a competitive team this year. I think he has seen the growth in the young guys.

"He was frustrated with losing. He wants to win….He's in the prime of his career, (and) he wants to be on a playoff team."

Stotts, it should be noted, clearly has a strong sense of understanding when it comes to Aldridge's frustrations. Players in their primes, as he well knows, almost always grow tired of teams on the decline. Yet conveniently enough, Aldridge – who made his view known publicly in late October that he sees the Blazers finishing seventh in the Western Conference – has become a believer.

 

After we amnestied Roy, he couldn't re-sign with us for several more years (the length of the contract). I get that he hasn't been involved enough with this team since he left but it's not like he had an option to stay and simply chose another team.

 

Dude....

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Yep. You are impossible.

 

I would rank Brandon Roy number 1. Lillard would be above Drexler and Drexler would be tied with Petrie and just slightly ahead of Hollins who was clearly our best defensive guard.

 

While Twardzik was great, I would rank him at about number 6. But your ranking of Hollins deserves attention.

 

Have to agree with everything except the Bobby Gross ranking who was great but not that great. Also have to take issue with your Lillard criticism. He's rising in my ranking of guards.

By the way, Rich Adelman was one of our worst point guards ever. He was so bad that we used to boo his play in the old Memorial Coliseum. Look h9w he turned out, one of the best coaches ever.

 

Say, what? Are you off your rocker?

 

Then by this measure, Petrie probably shouldn’t count either. His career wasn’t much longer than Roy’s and it too was due to knee issues. I didn’t put Petrie on my list for sentimental reasons, I put him on it because was he was a helluva player. Same with Roy.

 

If I were to judge it by using the 'If I had one guy for one healthy year' theme, I would pick as follows:

1- Drexler
2- Roy
3- Porter
4- Lillard
5- Hollins

I gave leadership for Porter and Hollins over guys with better stats.

 

Since when did the perennial lottery fodder Timberwolves become a rival?

 

Roy's leadership consisted of getting ZBO traded off the team, and whining that the ball was going into Oden too much. I'm pretty sure he was also behind Steve Blake starting over Andre Miller.

 

Porter was the starting PG and vocal leader of a team that went to the championship two times so ya. Roy had great stats. He just didn't have longevity. There wasn't a better clutch player for Blazers for decades. I would want the ball in his hands for the last shot of any big game.