If you think Portland's ownership and front office can look dysfunctional and petty at times, just look at the Utah Jazz, who are often considered one of the most stable, well-run franchises in the NBA.

We all know about the Sloan fiasco last year. Apparently Malone recently said Sloan was handcuffed by management, who chose Williams over Sloan. Malone also said he had to buy tickets to a Jazz game from a scalper.

New Jazz owner, Greg Miller, has gone nuts attacking Malone. First he wrote a Dan Gilbert'esque twitter post calling Malone a liar (in regard to the ticket) issue: "Hey Karl - you're lying. You have my number. Next time you need a seat to a Jazz game, call me. You can have mine." Now Miller's written a blog post calling Malone "too unreliable and too unstable" to be an assistant coach with the team. Miller goes on to say: "The fact is Karl is still as high-maintenance as he ever was, but now he has nothing to offer to offset the grief and aggravation that comes with him."

Frankly, I think it's stupid to publicly lambast one of your past employees, regardless of whether you're right or not. The fact that Malone is one of the Jazz's all-time greats makes this that much more foolish.

I know we want to get the dirt on what went down with KP, Penn, and even Cho, but perhaps we should be thankful Blazers' management generally knows to stay silent when it has nothing nice to say.

ESPN's Blazers/Clippers game recap compares Griffin and Aldridge's All-Star resumes. It's description of Aldridge erroneously attributes Wes Matthews' horrible game against Sacramento to LMA:

"Aldridge averages 21.3 points and 8.8 rebounds. He has emerged as the team's most productive player since three-time All-Star Brandon Roy went out in mid-December, but he had a season-low four points on 2-of-10 shooting against Sacramento."

Hollinger has a new piece out rating NBA benches. He created a new statistic that is basically a weighted average of bench production. He says it "essentially estimates the PER a team receives from its subs." Importantly, bench status is determined on a game-by-game basis

The writeup doesn't address the Blazers, but a ranking of NBA benches is included. Toronto is #1 with a rating of 14.24, while New Orleans is dead last at 10.14. Portland is way down the list at 11.14. It looks like slightly more than one half of the league's teams have bench ratings in excess of 12.

Unsurprisingly, there isn't a huge correlation between bench rating and team record--Miami and Boston are near the bottom of the heap, for instance. But of the western playoff contenders, five sport benches in the league's top 7 (Denver, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, and L.A.). OKC is 11. Utah's bench is one spot below Portland's (injuries no doubt playing a factor for both teams), and of course, N.O. is dead last. Hollinger actually claims that bench strength explains most of the difference between New Orleans' and San Antonio's records this year. So the difference between a bench rating of 13.37 and 10.14 is sizable.

I'm actually surprised the Blazers fair as well as they do, given our abysmal bench play this year. Hopefully things improve with time as the new second unit gels.

It would be interesting to see how our bench rating has fared over the last four or five years. I'm sure it was fantastic in '08-'09.

I used to think Jaynes was simply a cantankerous voice of moderation, fighting our natural tendency as fans to be too high on our guys.

But his latest attacks on Roy's character are just petty and inane.

Check out today's post. It's nothing but illogical speculation.

Contrary to the rumors floating over the weekend, Cho says Oden won't be participating in 5v5 workouts this week. Cho says Oden is progressing well; it just sounds like the team is just being extra cautious:

"'We’re going to ease him into it ... maybe do some two-on-two or three-on-three, instead of up-and down five-on-five,' Cho said. 'I’m hoping he’ll be cleared to do that in the next couple of weeks.'"

"That would seem to put in doubt Oden’s availability through the preseason. Training camp opens on Sept. 27, with the first exhibition game Oct. 5 against the Los Angeles Clippers."

"'We’re being cautious,' Cho said. 'The longer you wait for the bone to heal, the better.'"

Some other good updates on the team in the article. It's worth a read.

Not really a rumor, just speculation: "Remember, if the Nuggets trade Melo and rebuild, there's really no point in them keeping Billups either. Could be two All-Stars on market."

So the obvious question is, should the Blazers go after Billups if the Nuggets implode?

Chauncy is about to turn 34, so he's basically the same age as Andre. His contract is bigger than Miller's, but like Miller's, it's only for 2 more years, and it's partially guaranteed for 2011-2012.

If I recall correctly, Hollinger did a pretty compelling piece a few years back on how big PGs who can shoot age VERY well (see, e.g., Nash and to a lesser extent Kidd). So Billups might have a number of great years left in the tank. He's stayed relatively healthy over the course of his career (not Miller healthy, but good for 70+ games every year) and his statistical production remains quite steady.

Billups seems like an obvious upgrade over Miller, especially in the Blazers' system, but would he be worth the price?

With Miller's deal we could provide the Nuggets some financial relief, but not a ton. We obviously have a lot of young guys we can offer, but nothing amazing other than Batum.

What's the most you would be willing to give up to get Billups? Joel & Miller work financially, but surely Denver wouldn't accept such a deal. Miller, Bayless and Rudy works too, but I would be surprised if that was enough for Denver either. Obviously, they would try to get Batum. I don't think I would be willing to go that far.

It's interesting to compare Oden's recovery to Blake Griffin's. Blake was hurt during the preseason last year. Most of the NBA's major prognosticators are predicting big things for Griffin this year--they're not flipping out over the speed of his recovery (unlike some folks with Oden). And yet, it sounds like he's at best a little ahead of Oden right now, which makes sense since he's had a lot longer to recover. Of course, I realize that not all kneecap injuries are the same, and Griffin's may have been worse than Oden's.

From the Sporting News:

"Of course, there’s still the issue of whether Griffin is completely healthy yet. Del Negro put Griffin at about 75 percent, and said the Clippers have no plans to hurry him along."

"'It’s still a one-day-at-a-time process,' Del Negro said. 'The biggest thing you have to battle is Blake’s anxiety, or his excitement to get back on the court and play at full steam. He wants to play, but we have to slow him down and stick with the plan. There is plenty of time. We still have the rest of August, all of September, and then we can start getting him up to 100 percent in October. I anticipate him being ready for opening night.'"

For those who don't have Insider: Hollinger lists the Blazers as one of this summer's winners, along with Miami, Chicago, Milwaukee, Golden State (just b/c they have new owners), and San Antonio.

He really liked the Webster trade and our draft, and credits the Blazers for keeping KP to run things. He likes the Matthews signing, and thinks his fit with the team is so good that it justified overpaying him. And he's a big fan of the Cho hire, and says Born and Buchanan can make up for the loss of KP's scouting eye.

I don't care if the Blazers are the darlings of the national media, but it's nice to not be in their doghouse.

... along with Webster and Howard. And before you think, "Oh, that's just because it's only available in 2XL," note that Cunningham's shirt is only available in XL, but it's not on sale.

I'm sure it's probably just a coincidence (his jerseys aren't slashed any more than anyone else's), but the Blazer fan base always loves a good conspiracy. I'm sure this is a sign that a CP3 trade has already been completed (*joking of course*).

ESPN is reporting that the Nuggets reached an agreement in principle Tuesday night on a five-year, $34 million contract with Al Harrington, outbidding Dallas in the process.

Despite the poor early trend, it looks like the Western powers are slowly adding some nice pieces. Childress in Phoenix, Jefferson in Utah, Chandler in Dallas, and now Harrington in Denver.

Obviously, Harrington won't do much to replace Martin or Andersen's defense, rebounding, thuggishness, or tattoos. But when Martin and Anderson get healthy again, he will be a very interesting addition. A lineup with Lawson/Billups, Smith, Melo, Harrington, and Nene/Anderson would be very potent... and very volatile.

Talk about adding insult to injury. You know you're hard up when you talk about replacing LeBron with Qyntel Woods:

"The Cavs don't have a small forward on their roster, even though Danny Green can give them a few minutes at the position. Qyntel Woods, who last played for the Knicks in 2006-07, might be one of the best available. The 29-year-old played for Asecco Prokom Gdynia in Poland last year and was first-team all-Euro and first-team all-defense. He's a 6-8, 230-pounder who can score."

Good luck with that, Cleveland.

From ESPN Insider:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Everything is set for Chris Bosh to join LeBron James in Cleveland. Everything, that is, except Bosh's approval.

"The Toronto Raptors have told the Cleveland Cavaliers they will do a sign-and-trade with them for Bosh, according to several league sources.

"The exact details of the potential trade have not been solidified, but Toronto likely would get Anderson Varejao and/or J.J. Hickson, Delonte West and perhaps Anthony Parker. A draft pick could be involved as well.

"Both James and Bosh are aware that such a trade is possible, and James has tried to recruit Bosh to the Cavaliers several times in the past few weeks, according to sources.

"But right now, Bosh remains cold to the idea of playing in Cleveland.

"The Cavaliers are hopeful that will change, because in Cleveland, Bosh can meet two of his top priorities: playing with James, and getting a six-year, $125 million contract."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

If true, that would be an amazing deal for Cleveland. Seems like somebody would offer Toronto a better deal then that.

Quick just provided the following update on MSP: the Blazers are no longer targeting a vet through the draft. They have someone they want to draft and will address vets during the summer.

At the end of the Ford/Simmons mock draft debate, Ford mentioned that Memphis and Minnesota may swap Randolph and Jefferson.

Given, nothing Khan does is rational, but Randolph and Love seem even more similar and incompatible than Jefferson and Love.

Update: ESPN has a full article now. The story just keeps getting better. KHAN! is apparently motivated in part by a belief that Love and Jefferson pair poorly on the defensive end. I can't wait for the presser when Kahn touts Zach as a big defensive upgrade.

Found this on ESPN Insider. Apparently Thibodeau officially declined the Hornets offer yesterday. Looks like Monty is gone. Too bad. He did a great job with some of our young guys and would have been an interesting option to replace Nate some day.

Hollinger basically echoes the popular sentiment around here. If the Blazers beat Denver on Thursday, we'll be in good shape to catch them and take the 5th spot. And he notes that we may want to remain in 6th, because he projects Dallas to take the 3rd seed.

Dwight Jaynes thinks the following quote from the "extended" Peter Vescey column (doesn't provided a link to that column) is a major bomshell, which Dwight views as credible:

"I'm told Penn threatened to expose Miller for doing something improper. For the time being, I'll leave it at that."

Dwight's smelling a major scandal here.

Maybe this is just the media blowing things way out of proportion. At least Dwight thinks this latest turn of events means that KP's situation, whether there's a problem there or not, isn't tied to what happened with Penn.

Nevertheless, I'm tired of all these negative off-court stories. Anyone else feel like the Blazers are becoming a soap opera again? Do other teams have these problems but we just don't hear about them?

EA Sports is taking votes on who to add to the upcoming NBA Jam game. You have until March 22 to vote for your favorite Blazers.

They did a fairly mediocre job selecting the Blazers' candidates: Roy, LA, Oden, Camby, Dre, and Webster. Frankly, I think Rudy and Batum would have been a lot of fun, but oh well. Voters are supposed to select three players.

According to the Indy Star, Oden ran on a treadmill for the first time on Wednesday.

The whole article is worth reading as its the most comprehensive article I've seen on Oden's rehab to date. This is my favorite line:

"Oden now practically lives in the weight room, working to strengthen his leg." I'm glad to hear he's not working to bulk up his upper body like last time.

Overall, Greg's mental state sounds a lot better this time. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

I'm surprised I haven't seen anything about this yet. Sorry if it's already been posted.

For those who don't have Insider, Hollinger's article basically says that the Mavs don't appear to be anywhere near as good as their record, and implies that LA, Denver, and Utah are all contenders, while Dallas isn't. He also notes that Dallas will most likely lock up the #2 seed due to a very favorable schedule over their next 7 games.

Looking at the current standings, it seems pretty likely that the Blazers will have either the 7th or 8th seed in the West. OKC and Phoenix have a pretty considerable lead on us when you look at the losses column.

I know it's still early, but I think I'm going to start cheering for a 2/7 matchup with Dallas. It looks like our best bet to get out of the opening round. After getting hosed with the seedings last year, lets hope the Blazers catch a break (not literally, knock on wood), this year.

I don't think Dallas is a great matchup for us, despite our record against them this year, but I would rather face them than Utah, Denver, or LA.

AWoj is reporting that the Clips only interest in the Blazers' deal is $3 million in cash incentives.

Good thing PA has deep pockets.

The RealGM see-saw continues:

"The Bulls have contacted New York again regarding Al Harrington's availability. Those teams also talked in a rumor that leaked in early December.

"A deal involving Tyrus Thomas and Jannero Pargo for Harrington would need other salaries to work.

"Portland's interest in Thomas is not believed to be serious.

"Thomas also is being shopped as part of larger deals involving John Salmons and Kirk Hinrich, according to league sources. The Bulls are making clear to teams they will not take back salary as part of any deal."

Via Chicago Tribune

From the Chicago Sun-Times (via ESPN Insider):

"Rumors were circulating Sunday that the Washington Wizards are shopping swingman Caron Butler, with the Bulls and the Miami Heat being the likely trading partners. From the Bulls, the Wizards reportedly would seek guard Kirk Hinrich to provide some stability. The rumors also had the expiring contracts of Jerome James and Mike James being included, although the contracts of Butler ($9.78 million) and Hinrich ($9.5 million) are close enough to do the deal straight up."

This would be a rather ironic trade given that Butler and Hinrich are two of the players most commonly talked about as possible trade targets for the Blazers.

If there is any truth to this rumor, it would seem that Hinrich's market value is higher than I would have anticipated. Conversely, Butler's seems to be lower.

From today's ESPN Insider NBA Rumors:

"Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes that one possible destination for Blake is Miami.

"Keep in mind, as well, that the trade exception the Heat holds from last February's Shawn Marion-Jermaine O'Neal trade also would accommodate Blazers point guard Steve Blake, a player who long has interested the Heat. The trade exception would allow the Heat to then include Daequan Cook or another lower-priced player in such a deal with Portland.

"The trade exception is worth $4.26 million and was generated from Marcus Banks' contract."

Link to the original Sun-Sentinel article.

Would that net us anything? Other than freeing up some cap space, I fail to see why the Blazers would be interested.

When asked whether the Blazers would make any moves this season, Chad Ford had this to say:

"It's interesting. Miller is obvious trade bait. But I've spoken with a couple of GMs who have called the Blazers inquiring about Miller and I'm told they Blazers told them they weren't ready to trade 'Dre yet. Things may have changed in the last 48 hours ... but this weekend that was the word I was getting. So, I get the feeling they are being patient."

That makes perfect sense to me. I figure we have to try starting him before we move him, unless a great offer comes along.

A couple of interesting tidbits from ESPN's NBA rumors page today:

1. There's talk that Jack may be a better option for the Raptors at PG than Calderon. Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun thinks Jack is a better fit with the starters. Wolstat writes: "Jarrett Jack took T.J. Ford's starting point guard gig last year in Indiana and over the next few games, he might just take advantage of Jose Calderon's injury and do the same thing in Toronto. Jack is not the dead-eye shooter Calderon is, nor is he a pass-first 'true' point guard like the Spaniard, but it is becoming increasingly apparent that his skill-set meshes better with the rest of the starting lineup than Calderon's ... Though he, like Jack, has posted better numbers as a starter, Calderon also has had success as a backup and likely would thrive even more now playing against second units."

2. Sessions is now eligible to be traded, and Mark Stein thinks he's likely to be moved.

Calderon would be interesting. He's like a much better version of Blake. His defensive has been really poor this year (he's hurt), and was never good, but I doubt it's worse than Blake's. His offense would be a significant upgrade, and he would fit well with Roy.

Hollinger describes Sessions as the second coming of Andre Miller. He has no outside shot to speak of, but he's much younger than Dre, so even though he's not particularly athletic, he would probably be an upgrade defensively, and he has far more years left in the tank.

Not much on the Blazers really. I think it's funny that it appears the NBA.com author just summarized the last few days of posts on BE. Maybe our rants on here are giving us, and our team, a negative rep!

I don't want to turn this into something where folks call others out, but along the lines of the headline, do Blazers fans grumble more than most? There's definitely a popular sentiment that we're whiners. I suspect that we're just a more rabid fan base, so while we may have more whiners and grumblers in the aggregate (or those we have may be louder), they don't represent a higher percentage of our ranks than normal.

What do you think? Are we whiners and grumblers? I sure hope not. There's a place for criticism, but fandom by definition, is about admiration and excitement. If we lose that, we'll be a sad lot indeed.