Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are a professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The franchise, based in Portland throughout its existence, entered the league in 1970, and is currently the only major league franchise in the state of Oregon. From 1977 through 1995, the team sold out 814 consecutive home games, the longest such streak in American professional sports. They originally played their home games in the Memorial Coliseum, before moving to the Rose Garden Arena in 1995.

The team has advanced to the NBA Finals three times, winning the NBA Championship once, in 1977. The team also advanced to the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992. The team has qualified for the playoffs during 25 seasons of their 36-season existence, including a streak of 21 straight appearances from 1983 through 2003. Four Hall of Fame players have played for the Trail Blazers (Lenny Wilkens, Bill Walton, Clyde Drexler, and Drazen Petrovic), as well as one player (Scottie Pippen) who was recognized as one of the league's 50 greatest but who is not yet eligible for the Hall. Bill Walton is the franchise's most decorated player; he was the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 1977, and the regular season MVP the following year. Three Blazer rookies (Geoff Petrie, Sidney Wicks, and Brandon Roy) have won the NBA Rookie of the Year award. Two Hall of Fame coaches, Lenny Wilkens and Jack Ramsay, have patrolled the sidelines for the Blazers, and two others (Mike Schuler and Mike Dunleavy) have won the NBA Coach of the Year award with the team.

The team owner is Paul Allen, who purchased the team in 1988. The team president is Larry Miller, and the general manager is Kevin Pritchard. The head coach of the Trail Blazers is Nate McMillan. The team's NBDL affiliate is the Idaho Stampede.

Name and branding

The team has been known as the "Trail Blazers" throughout its history. Two weeks after being awarded an expansion franchise in 1970, team management held a contest to select the team's name. More than 10,000 entries were submitted. The most popular choice was "Pioneers", but that name was excluded from consideration as it was already used by sports teams at Portland's Lewis and Clark College. 172 entries recommended the name "Trail Blazers" and that was the name that was selected.

The team's colors are red, white, black; silver was added in 2002. The team's "pinwheel" logo, originally designed by the cousin of former Blazer executive Harry Glickman, is a graphic interpretation of two five-on-five basketball teams lined up against each other. One side of the pinwheel is rendered in red; the other side is rendered in a monochrome color (black, silver, or white). The logo has gone from a vertical alignment to a slanted one over time.

Portland's home uniforms are white in color, with red and black accents; the primary road uniform is black, with red, white, and sliver accents. The alternate road uniforms are red, with white, silver, and black accents. From 1970 to the 1977-78 season, the team wore red road uniforms, switching to black in that year. The team again wore red during the 1984-85 season, switching back to black road jerseys after that. In 2002, the team reintroduced red jerseys.

The team's mascot is Blaze the Trail Cat, a two-tone silver-colored mountain lion, which has been the team's official mascot since 2002. Prior to Blaze's debut, the Trail Blazers never had any official mascot. A popular unofficial mascot was Bill "The Beerman" Scott, a Seattle beer vendor/cheerleader who worked for numerous pro teams, including the Trail Blazers, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Seattle Mariners. Scott worked for the Trail Blazers from 1981 through 1985.

History
The Trail Blazers entered the NBA in 1970 as an expansion team, playing in the Memorial Coliseum. The team was led in its early years by charismatic players such as Geoff Petrie and Sidney Wicks, but as is common with expansion teams, were not successful. The Blazers failed to qualify for the NBA postseason in their first six years of existence. During that span, the team had three head coaches (including future hall-of-famer Lenny Wilkens); team executive Stu Inman also served as coach. The team won the first pick in the NBA Draft twice during that span; the 1972 selection of LaRue Martin with the number one pick is considered by many NBA observers one of the worst draft picks in NBA history. However, in 1974 the team selected Bill Walton from UCLA; a pick that would reverse the team's direction.

Championship
In 1976, the American Basketball Association merged with the NBA. Four ABA teams joined the NBA; the remaining teams were dissolved and their players distributed among the remaining NBA squads in a dispersal draft. The Trail Blazers selected Maurice Lucas in the dispersal draft; that summer they also hired Jack Ramsay as head coach. The two moves, coupled with the emergence of Walton as a premier NBA big man, led the team to its first winning record (49—33), its first playoff appearance, and its only NBA Championship in 1977. On April 5 of that year, the team failed to sell out a game, after which they would embark on a sellout streak of 809 straight games--the longest in sports history--which would not end until 1995, after the team moved into a larger facility.

The team started the next season with a 50-10 record, and many predicted a dynasty in Portland, but it was not to be. Walton suffered a foot injury which ended his season and would plague his entire career, and the team struggled to a 58-24 record, losing to the Seattle Supersonics in the conference semifinals. That summer, Bill Walton demanded a trade; when none was forthcoming he held out the entire 1978-1979 season and left the team as a free agent thereafter. Maurice Lucas would leave the team in 1980, and the Blazers "dynasty" was finished.

The 1980s
During the 1980s, the team would be a consistent presence in the NBA postseason, only once failing to qualify for the playoffs (in 1982). However, they would never advance past the conference semifinals during the decade. The Pacific Division of the NBA was owned by the Los Angeles Lakers throughout the decade, and only the Lakers and the Houston Rockets would represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. Key players for the team during the early 80s included Mychal Thompson, Fat Lever, Darnell Valentine, Wayne Cooper, T. R. Dunn, Jim Paxson, and Calvin Natt. But the offseasons of 1983 and 1984 would be instrumental in defining the future success (and failure of) the team into the next decade.

In 1983, the team selected University of Houston guard/forward Clyde Drexler with the 13th pick in the draft; "Clyde the Glide" would become the face of the franchise for over a decade, and the team's most decorated player with the exception of Walton. The following year, the Trail Blazers landed the #2 pick in the NBA Draft. After the Houston Rockets selected Drexler's college teammate Akeem Olajuwon at #1, the Trail Blazers selected Kentucky center Sam Bowie. Drafting third, the Chicago Bulls would select Michael Jordan. Many sportswriters and analysts have criticized the selection of the injury-plagued Bowie over Jordan as the worst draft pick in the history of American professional sports. That summer, the Blazers also made a controversial trade, sending Lever, Cooper, and Natt to the Denver Nuggets for high-scoring forward Kiki Vandeweghe.

However, the Blazers continued to struggle in the postseason, and in 1986 Ramsay would be fired and replaced with Mike Schuler. That off-season, the team would draft two players from behind the Iron Curtain, Arvydas Sabonis and Drazen Petrovic., and send Thompson to the San Antonio Spurs for former Oregon State University star Steve Johnson, a high-scoring forward-center who the team intended to pair with Bowie on the frontline. It was not to be, as Bowie broke his leg five games into the 1986-87 season, and would miss the next two and a half seasons. During Schuler's brief tenure, the Blazers failed to advance out of the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Paul Allen buys the team
In 1988, the team was purchased by billionaire Paul Allen. His first season as owner was one marked by turmoil, as conflicts over who should start erupted at several positions. Both Kiki Vandeweghe and Steve Johnson suffered injuries and were replaced in the starting lineup by Jerome Kersey and Kevin Duckworth respectively, and several players, most notably Clyde Drexler was accused of undermining Schuler The team struggled to a losing record and appeared in danger of missing the playoffs. Schuler was fired and replaced on an interim basis with assistant coach Rick Adelman, and Vandeweghe was traded to the New York Knicks. Under Aldeman, the team rallied to a 39-43 record, barely qualifying for the playoffs. That offseason, the team traded Sam Bowie (who had returned to the team to end the season) to the New Jersey Nets for forward Buck Williams, and Adelman was given the coaching job on a non-interim basis.

The addition of Williams, and the replacement of the defensively-challenged Vandeweghe with the defensive-minded Kersey, turned the team from a poor defensive squad into a good one. Led by the charismatic Clyde Drexler, the team would reach the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992, losing to the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls respectively. The year in between, the team posted a league-best 63-19 record before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals. However, the team failed to win an NBA title; and failed to advance past the first round in 1993 and 1994. Adelman was fired after the 1994 season, and replaced with P. J. Carlesimo. Adelman's close friend, executive vice president Geoff Petrie, resigned.

The Whitsitt years
In July of 1994, the Trail Blazers announced the hire of a new team president--former Seattle Supersonics GM Bob Whitsitt. Whitsitt immediately set about retooling the Blazers; this included dismantling the Drexler-led team which had twice been to the finals, but which was getting long in the tooth. In 1993, Kevin Duckworth was traded to the Washington Bullets for forward Harvey Grant. Several key players were permitted to walk away in free agency, including Buck Williams (1996), Terry Porter (1996), and Cliff Robinson (1997). Jerome Kersey was left unprotected in the 1996 expansion draft. And Drexler himself would request and get a trade to the Rockets. In the fall of 1995, the team left the Memorial Coliseum for a new home, the 20,000-seat Rose Garden. The sellout streak would end in the new building.

In an effort to rebuild, the team acquired several players who were highly talented, but had reputations for off-court troubles. Isaiah Rider and Rasheed Wallace were acquired in trades, and point guard Kenny Anderson was signed as a free agent, and subsequently traded for Damon Stoudamire. Initially, this approach worked, as the team returned to the Western Conference finals in 1999 under head coach Mike Dunleavy. After being swept by the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs, Whitsitt sent Rider and guard Jim Jackson to the Atlanta Hawks for guard Steve Smith, and acquired former All-Star forward Scottie Pippen from the Houston Rockets. This team would again advance to the Western Conference Finals, where they faced a Los Angeles Lakers team led by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. In that series, the Blazers dropped 3 out of the first 4 games before winning the next two, forcing a pivotal Game 7. The Blazers had a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, but lost the game and the series to the Lakers, who would go on to win the first of three titles in a row.

The "Jail Blazers" era
After that failure, the team made a series of personnel moves in the 2000 and 2001 off-seasons which failed to produce the desired results, and continued to alienate the community. Up-and-coming forward Jermaine O'Neal was traded to the Indiana Pacers for Dale Davis, and the team traded popular forward Brian Grant for troubled ex-Seattle forward Shawn Kemp. The team started off well, posting the Western Conference's best record through March of 2001; but then signed guard Rod Strickland to augment their point guard corps. The move backfired, and the team lost 17 of its remaining 25 games, and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Many in the media began to criticize the team, and Whitsitt, previously proclaimed a genius for his work in both Seattle and Portland, started coming under criticism. A particular criticism was that Whitsitt was attempting to win a title by assembling a roster of superstars, without paying attention to team chemistry; longtime NBA coach and analyst Doug Collins referred to Whitsitt as a "rotisserie-league manager". A fan was ejected from the Rose Garden for holding up a banner that said "Trade Whitsitt", and many in the national media started referring to the team as the "Portland Jail Blazers".

That offseason, the churning continued. Dunleavy was fired, and replaced with Maurice Cheeks, a "players coach" who it was thought would relate better to the players than did Dunleavy. More transactions followed, as the Blazers traded Steve Smith to the Spurs for Derek Anderson. In one of his most controversial moves to that time, Whitsitt signed free agent Ruben Patterson, who had previously plead nolo contendre to a felony sexual assault charge, and was required to register as a sex offender. Popular center Arvydas Sabonis, who during the playoffs had a towel flung in his face by Rasheed Wallace decided to leave the team.

The next two seasons were just as disastrous for the team's reputation. Numerous players, including Rasheed Wallace, Damon Stoudamire, and Qyntel Woods, were arrested for marijuana possession. Rasheed Wallace was suspended for seven games for threatening a referee. Zach Randolph and Ruben Patterson got in a fight during practice, with Randolph sucker punching his teammate in the jaw. Police answering a burglar alarm at Stoudamire's house noticed a marijuana smell, searched the premises, and found a pound of cannibas located in a crawlspace; the search was later declared illegal and charges in the matter were dropped. Guard Bonzi Wells famously told Sports Illustrated in a 2002 interview:

they [fans] really don't matter to us. They can boo us every day, but they're still going to ask for our autographs if they see us on the street.

As a result, fan discontent soared; despite the team continuing to post a winning record, attendance at the Rose Garden started to decline. In the summer of 2003, with attendance declining, the team going nowhere on the court, and an exorbitant payroll, Whitsitt announced that he would leave the team to focus on Paul Allen's other franchise (the Seattle Seahawks).

Downfall; Rose Garden bankruptcy
To replace Whitsitt, the team split his role into two and hired two men. The new general manager was John Nash, a veteran NBA executive, and the new team president was Steve Patterson. The new management promised a focus on character while remaining playoff contenders; the team soon published a "Twenty-Five Point Pledge" to fans Troublesome players including Bonzi Wells, Rasheed Wallace, and Jeff McInnis were traded away. However, the team failed to qualify for the 2004 NBA playoffs, ending a streak of 21 straight appearances.

The following year was marked by more trouble, as the team plummeted to a 27-55 record. The bankruptcy of the Oregon Arena corporation, which resulted in the Rose Garden being owned by a consortium of investment firms, further alienated the fanbase, as did an incident in which forward Darius Miles (himself African-American) called coach Maurice Cheeks a "nigger". The latter incident was compounded by what many viewed as inadquate discipline for Miles, followed by a secret agreement between the team and Miles to refund the amount of his fine. Cheeks would be fired that season and was replaced on an interim basis by director of player-personnel Kevin Pritchard. That summer, the team would hire Nate McMillan, who had coached the Sonics the prior season, to replace Cheeks.

The following season was not better, as the Blazers posted a league-worst 21-61 record. Attendance was dismal, and the year was not free of player incidents, as players such as Miles, Ruben Patterson, Zach Randolph, and Sebastian Telfair were involved in either on-court bickering or off-court legal incidents. At the end of the season, GM John Nash would be fired, with Patterson assuming the role in addition to his duties as president. In addition, the team had a poor relationship with the management of the Rose Garden, frequently complaining of a "broken economic model". It was widely speculated by the end of the year that Allen would sell the team; and the team was offered for sale that summer, with several groups expressing interest. However, Allen was willing to spend money and urged Pritchard to make draft-day trades. He subsequently took the team off the market..


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