We'll be doing live video chats with the players throughout the day, in a simalar fashion to what we did prior to the start of the season. You can follow along here. Bayless already rolled through (sorry ben!) but we'll have most of the players throughout the day.

Send in your questions, comments, ect. I'll be in there chatting for most of the day so if for some reason you actually have a question for me, go ahead and ask. Name dropping Blazer's Edge is not only permitted, but encouraged.

In the wake of Chad Ford's assertion re: deals offered to the Trail Blazers at the trade deadline, i submit to you Kevin Pritchard's comments during last night's edition of Courtside, which you can listen to here. I also trancribes a quote that would seem to address why trades, imagined or otherwise, didn't get done. So sayeth Pritchard:

"I think I have a good feel for this team. Being around all these guys for as long as I have, I think I know what they can handle in terms of another player. I like I've got a good grasp on that. Nate McMillan and I talk about that all the time; what kind of personality that is. And I don't want to get into all the details of that, but if we don't bring in the right guys then we could destroy what we have. Maybe destroy is too strong of a word because you feel like with this culture, maybe people will assimilated, sort of, to them. But I still worry that ... we're not grown enough and it still need time to grow."

Also a kind of non-update update on Oden. The full two hours of Courtside should be available shortly.

Some good, non-alarmist reaction from John Hollinger re: KP's standing pat on the trade deadline. The finer points:

 

Melvin (Pittsburgh, PA) [via mobile]: Why do you think Portland didn't make an effort to get Richard Jefferson? He would have definetly been a good compliment at the 3.

 John Hollinger: I don't think he's much better than Outlaw at this point in their careers, so why pay four times as much money and kill your future cap flexibility? I suspect Portland only wanted to do that deal if they could steal Sessions in return for taking Jefferson.

 

Me: Exactly.

 

Rob (portland): Early grumblings out in Portland is that KP has lost his "golden boy" image today, amongst the fan base. Not a good day for Portland and their fans. Do you agree? Letting Raef walk for nothing is not what the fans wanted. People are mad.

 John Hollinger: I think the Blazers might have oversold expectations as far as what the LaFrentz contract could reap, but that's about all they're guilty of. They wanted either a difference maker on the wing or at the point, and the deals weren't there to be done once Washington and Charlotte wouldn't play ball. So I commend them for not forcing it.

 

Me: Early "grumblngs" are that Rob is an idiot. Raef isn't walking for nothing.

I've been running around here in Phoenix trying to get some interesting stuff from Roy, Rudy and Oden. Most of it can be found here on the All-Star Central page. If you want to see Oden go through the media junket or Rudy speak to a gang of Spanish media, we got you covered.

 

By the way, there are more cops in downtown Phoenix than in a Police Academy movie. Starbucks too. Cops and Starbucks.

Travis Outlaw talks about the differences between playing small and power forward and his sweet spot. None of this will probably come as a surprise to you hardcores, but maybe you'll learn something.

 

I don't know about you, but I hate shooting from the baseline. Granted, I'm a terrible basketball player (and athlete in general), but I simply can't hit that shot. I'd much rather have a chance of getting a kind bounce from the backboard.

Travis Outlaw cares what you think, and according to Trav (or more appropriately, his cousin) you hate him. I find it hard to believe, but maybe he's right.

I didn't do a very good job of getting it accross in the post, but more than any other player I've been around, Travis is desperate to know the opinions people have of him.

"You think I'm going to get traded?"

"Which dunk did I get the highest on?"

"What you think of my defense?"

On and on.

More on Travis trying to improve his passing here. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Poll

Is Travis Outlaw the most hated Trail Blazer?

10%

Yes

35 votes

73%

No

250 votes

16%

Probably maybe

56 votes

341 votes | Poll has closed

Brandon Roy went through shootaround today, but he's still a 50/50 decision when it comes to whether he'll play tonight against the Hornets. Roy said he's going to play a game of one-on-one versus Monty Wiliams pregame after which he'll make his decision.

Here's a quote from Brandon that I didn't get into my post:

"I’d rather know before the game so the guys know they’re going to play without me or their going to play with me for the full game instead of 'aw, I’m going to try to play' and after the first quarter they look and it's like 'is Brandon going to play or not? I’d rather them know going into the game If I’m going to play or not. I’m going to try to go early enough to where they’ll know if I’m going to play or not. I’ll play one-on-one. I’m going to try and play hard. Hopefully it feels good because this is a big game for us. New Orleans is right there. Utah plays the Lakers. Everybody plays everybody right now.  So we’re trying to do a good job of making a run."

Dave or Ben will probably be putting something up on the front page shortly (at which time they should delete this fanpost), but in the interim, I thought I'd pass along the preseason schedule.

Oct. 7: Sacramento @ Rose Garden, 7 p.m.

Oct. 8: Golden State @ Rose Garden, 7 p.m.

Oct.10: Atlanta @ Sprint Center (in Kansas City, MO!), 7 p.m.

Oct. 12: Utah @ Rose Garden, 3 p.m.

Oct. 20: @ Sacramento, 7 p.m.

Oct. 22: @ L.A. Clippers, 7 p.m.

Oct. 23: @ Utah, 7 p.m.

 

I wrote a bit about the schedule over at my spot. It looks like we got a bunch of the teams that had a lot of personnel moves in the offseason.

Sorry if this has already been discussed, but I thought it was interesting that at least two Chicago-area media outlets mentioned the Blazers and their supple cap space in 2009 as a destination for Luol Deng. Both the Chicago Times and the Arlington Daily Herald throw out the idea. I discussed it further over at my spot.

 

Is Deng the kind of player you envision KP spending Paul Allen's cap space on? It seems like a bit of a reach to me, especially considering he already turned down a five-year, $57.5 million extension. That's serious cash for your fourth option who's only a so-so defender.

No big surprise, but now all doubt has officially been removed. From the press release.

“I am so excited about joining the Trail Blazers and the NBA,” said Fernandez. “The whole staff did a tremendous job making me feel like a very important team member to them and made me forget about the economic issues because of the rookie scale.

 

“My dream has been to play in the NBA and Portland is giving me this opportunity. I was amazed about everything that Mr. Allen, Kevin Pritchard, Coach McMillan and the rest of the guys did to show me how much they wanted me. Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, I can't wait to play with them. We will do nice things!”

 

Fernandez, 23, spent the past seven seasons playing for DVK Joventut Badalona in the Spanish ACB League, and is a regular member of the Spanish National Team.

 

“We are thrilled to finally have Rudy Fernandez in a Trail Blazers jersey,” said Pritchard. “Rudy is a tremendously talented player who has achieved great things in Spain and Europe. His work ethic and character will fit well with the culture we’ve created here, and we’re very excited to get him on the floor after the Olympics.”

 

I'm most excited about what Rudy brings to the court, but having a guy giving quotes like "We will do nice things!" is icing on the cake.

We had a nice group of guards down at the practice facility today, including Russell Westbrook and Ty Lawson. We don't get to watch the entire workout, but from what I saw, there were a couple of future starting NBA guards in attendance. Here's my write-up if you're interested.

 

To fill the word requirement, I thought I'd let you guys and gals know that after the podcast yesterday, Dave called to tell me he's actually rooting for the Lakers to win the Finals. True story, I swear!

If anyone missed it or is out of the broadcast area, I've got the audio from interviews with Kevin Pritchard and Greg Oden over at my stomping grounds. Both are worth a listen if you've got nothing else to do.

I know it's against Dave's rules to incessantly promote your own material, but please don't think poorly of me for it. I'm doing it for your benefit, I swear!

Paul Allen took some time out of his busy schedule to see what all the fuss is about in Spain. Thought almart might have been there as well.

30 points in 30 minutes ain't too shabby. Getting 15 free throw attempts tends to help the average a bit.

There are also some injury updates in the blog as well.

It's no salve to soothe the loss last night, but this story pretty much vindicates everything Channing Frye thought about Sacramento:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2008/03/sacramento_rats_out_frye.html

I understand having love for your home town, but the truth is the truth.

Has anyone else ever seen a rat in a movie theatre? (insert "Ratatouille" joke here)

I've been in and out of the office this week covering the high school state tournament, but I wanted to take a second to thanks Dave for all the great work he does on this site. It's always top-notch.

I would also like to publicly thank Dave for the great tshirt he sent me this week. I'll be wearing it the next time I get schooled in a pick-up game, which basically means the next time I play.

Thanks Dave, and thanks to all of you users that make this site great.

As you all know by now, Joel Przybilla has decided to re-signed with the Blazers for a reported 5 year, $30 million contract.  It's not very often in the NBA that a contract is actually indicative of a players worth, but luckily for the Red and Black, Przybilla's contract is neither too fat nor too spendthrift.  That's really what a good contract should be, as it sets realistic goals and expectations for both the player and the organization.  When you're overpaid, everyone gripes that you're not doing enough.  When you're underpaid, it creates distraction, jealously, and a perfidy on the part of the player.  Joel's contract is a perfect and increasingly rare situation in which both parties get equal value.  It's what happens when people make decisions for the right reasons.

The Blazer's decided to retain Joel because he's got the combination of skill and attitude needed to create a successful product.  Joel made his decision out of loyalty, duty, and with a mind toward his family.  He could have signed on with a team far more playoff ready than the Blazers, choosing to be that guy in class who bails on his dysfunctional group just before the due date, only to take up with that goody-two-shoes group full of suck-ups and teacher's pets. Sure, you end up with a good grade, but where's the pride? The dignity?  The sense of accomplishment?  

And congratulations to Pritchard and Patterson for actually making some meaningful decisions based on common-sense.  It's about time.

Supposedly Przy is going to make his decision today.  According to his agent, he's leaning toward Detroit, though he's telling that to a San Antonio newspaper, so who knows Duffy is being sincere or just trying to force the Spurs into ponying up more cash or more years.  I guess we'll know soon enough.

It's nothing any of you don't already know, but this article from Mike Kahn talks a little about Pritchard, Przybilla, and the future of the Blazers.  It's nice to read stories from national media outlets actually praising the Red and Black.  Before this draft, can anyone remember the last time you read something even semi-complimentary from the national media regarding the Blazers?  I can't.

ESPN is reporting that Ben Wallace is going to be a Bull.  If true, that takes Chi-town off the market for Przybilla.  Chicago probably had the biggest appeal for Joel due to it's Midwest locale and improving roster, but now that they're not looking for center, it's probably between San Antonio and Portland.  If I had to guess right now, I'd say Przy will be a Blazer come next season.