I was most intrigued by this particular part:

"Oden will be a restricted free agent next summer. He needs to go somewhere where any contribution he makes will be considered a welcome addition, not a comedown from what was expected from the No. 1 pick.

And it's possible he needs to be surrounded by a different medical and training staff. Oden's knee troubles are the latest in a Portland line that includes Zach Randolph, Darius Miles, Joel Przybilla and Brandon Roy, the franchise player who limped through the playoffs and currently is on the shelf for at least a week. I've had NBA people from inside and outside the organization cast wary eyes on the Trail Blazers' medical ways. "

Slightly disconcerting story about security, which in Dallas appears to be tight in all cases......except player safety.

What can you do though? The ladies love Rudy.

You mean, it looks like they're gonna sign Brandon after all? And I thought that 5th year was a deal breaker. Sure, he's one of the ten best players in the NBA and he's only getting better, but the short term savings are hard to pass up, huh?

Maybe this will be the end of the doomsday scenarios, though I know some of you worryworts won't be sated until the ink is dry on the contract.

For their sake, you hope that if they choose to go that they do well. Though I do have a bit of trepidation regarding this.

You knew it was only a matter of time before Roy would be asked to play for team USA. And with that comes less R&R time over the offseason to cool down. But these guys are still young now, thankfully. Should be ok for a while.

Channing Frye's turn to face Oregonlive judgement. I think we all know how this is going to end. I really wish he could be good and fit into Portland's system. He just doesn't. I am glad that he's gonna be sticking around in Portland otherwise.

Sheesh. Next thing you know, they're gonna say every time Greg dunks that it will only be worth one point.

Stu Jackson said that Ariza will not face any further punishment following the hit on Rudy. Looks like they're still deciding about Odom, however. He may get a game for leaving the bench.

Cue great vengeance and furious anger....

Looks like there will be three competitors for this. Kevin Durant, OJ Mayo and Joe Johnson. Should be entertaining. I don't know that there's anything Kevin Durant can't do when it comes to scoring, so he's my early pick to win this.

Nice story by Ric Bucher about LMA getting used to trusting people and how the Blazers have helped him improve his game this season. There's some stuff in here I hadn't heard about until now.