64 = The number of knees lost by the Trailblazers in recent years. If not, it sure seems like it!

Really, Jack, these clowns have as many scams, if not more, than the West Hills Gang and their Urban Renewal BS.

I'm surprised that you eat this crap up and continue to enable them by buying tickets and buying into their scams.

Go by Vulcan!

I'm surprised that you eat this crap up

I'm not surprised at another mean-spirited, know-it-all comment from you, but you're getting near the end of those.

I don't buy Blazer tickets. Haven't in years.

I just like that you say Egads. I do too.

Kevin Pritchard deserved the hook no matter what canzano says. After Sam Bowie, you draft the best athlete and not necessarily the tallest. Durante looked faster and above the rim type jumping ability compared against Oden.

Maybe it really doesn't matter since the NBA needs desparately for the Lakers and the Celtics (or Heat) to routinely be in the finals. Tell me how it was fair the Lakers got Sam Gasol when they were already loaded, and with the salaries too boot. The Grizzlies gave Gasol away for next to nothing. Can you say stacked. Portland's only hope was two years ago if Oden played healthy.

It takes a long time to rebuild too unless your the Lakers or Celtics and then you get gifts handed too you for the sake of the entire NBA.

Too bad because professional basketball is a great sport to watch if it were not fixed in many ways.

After Sam Bowie, you draft the best athlete and not necessarily the tallest. Durante looked faster and above the rim type jumping ability compared against Oden.

There were plenty of reasons to like Durant over Oden in 2007--better college performance, more polished skillset, fewer questions about durability (as in, none)--but he didn't look like the better athlete, no way. Oden in 2007 was a far more explosive leaper ("above the rim type"), moved just as well for his position as Durant did for his (center vs. wing), and was of course far stronger.

Durant is the better player now because he's far more developed as a basketball player than Oden likely will ever be, and because Greg Oden is broken. But the Blazers absolutely did draft the "best athlete" if what's meant by that is measurable or observable peak abilities. There are dozens of "better athletes" who play Kevin Durant's position but aren't one-tenth the player he is.

Drafting the tallest guy, when the tallest guy is also the best athlete, is pretty much mandatory... unless the Blazers truly should have known his body was seriously fragile. Bill Simmons' nonsense aside, we really don't have any evidence that the Blazers ignored medically significant warning flags.

The Grizzlies gave Gasol away for next to nothing.

The Grizzlies did much better than most teams do when giving up the best player in a trade. Pau's brother Marc, whose draft rights were acquired from the Lakers in the trade, is a very good center. The savings from that deal also allowed them to acquire Zach Randolph and (over)pay Rudy Gay, two consistent performers on a pretty good team last year. Now, they might still be better off with Pau Gasol, but he's reached a whole new level playing with Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom for Phil Jackson.