# Portland: Unluckiest team in the league



## Samuel (Jan 1, 2003)

I was looking across NBA rosters today and realized how unlucky this franchise is. Every team completes a few moves that are really smart and look great in hindsight, but they take a lot of correct guesswork and are difficult to complete.

Recent lucky moves:
Deals Harvey Grant and Rod Strickland for Rasheed Wallace.
Drafts Clyde Drexler

Dallas:
Trades Robert Traylor to Milwaukee for Dirk Nowitski

Sacramento:
Deals Mitch Richmond for Chris Webber

Lakers:
trades Vlade Divac for Draft Pick Kobe Bryant

can you guys think of any other 'lucky' moves?


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## Schilly (Dec 30, 2002)

New Jersey
Trades Stephon Marbury for Jason Kidd

Inidiana
Trades Dale Davis for Jermaine O'Neal


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## elastic modulus (May 6, 2003)

Orlando sending Big Ben + others to Detroit for Grant Hill and his bad ankle...
Detroit lucky Wallace broke out, Orlando bad luck G.Hill cant play, but Orlando was lucky T-mac became who he is now. 

Detroit trades Bonzi wells for future draft pick

Portland has been lucky Z-bo and Qyntel fell as far as they did in consecutive drafts.


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## HOWIE (Dec 30, 2002)

Don't forget that Portland trades Rasheed Wallace for the rights to Lebron James! :laugh:


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## Crazy Fan From Idaho (Dec 31, 2002)

Just confirming that the Blazers are "unlucky"....

Sabonis did not come to Portland when he was drafted. :sigh:


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## talman (Dec 31, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Crazy Fan From Idaho</b>!
> Just confirming that the Blazers are "unlucky"....
> 
> Sabonis did not come to Portland when he was drafted. :sigh:


Sob...I'm with ya CFFI! I think about that at least once a week--what that team could have been with Sabas in the lineup.


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## Trader Ed (Jun 17, 2002)

Thanks CFFI.. I am now depressed...

I was telling a colleague today... reminding him that David Stern laughed at us when we announced our drafting him at the podium...

then said.. wow, just think if it had been Sabas at center instead of Duckworth all those years..

I think I will go cry now.... :yes:


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## dkap (May 13, 2003)

Didn't another team draft Sabonis prior to the Blazers and then renounce his rights or something? Or am I dreaming that up 17 years after the fact?

Dan


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## Yega1979 (Mar 22, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>dkap</b>!
> Didn't another team draft Sabonis prior to the Blazers and then renounce his rights or something? Or am I dreaming that up 17 years after the fact?
> 
> Dan


No, Atlanta drafted him before the Blazers. You can play lots of what if games. Do you know how close portland was to having a starting lineup of Micheal Jordan, Larry Bird, Moses Malone, Clyde Drexler and Arvydas Sabonis?


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## dkap (May 13, 2003)

Atlanta is the team I was remembering, but my memory was pretty hazy on that part... Was there a different rule back then, something about how long draft rights could be held for certain picks?

As much as it hurts to think what would have been had Sabonis come straight to Portland, imagine how good some of those 80's Atlanta teams would have been with his presence in the middle. They gave Boston a pretty good run as it was.



> Do you know how close portland was to having a starting lineup of Micheal Jordan, Larry Bird, Moses Malone, Clyde Drexler and Arvydas Sabonis?


Bird is the only one I'm not sure how he fits in. Reminds me of one of my favorite trivia tidbits... Worst trade in NBA history may well be [effectively] Kevin McHale and Robert Parish for Joe Barry Carroll (I hope I got that right).

Dan


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## Trader Ed (Jun 17, 2002)

*Unluckiest or made a few blunders here and there?*

I think Atlanta drafted Sabas one year prior to us if memory serves me right...

He as ineligible, I think because he was too young at the time....


OK, I know the other what if's... 
but how did we supposedly almost have Bird?

I am a bit foggy on that acquisition...


Dont foget we blew it on the Bob McAdoo scenario too. Can you say Larue who???

If not Olajowan, how about Jordan? or Charles Barkey (my pick if I did it again), or James Worthy???.................. no, we drafted Sam Bowie!!!!


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## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>talman</b>!
> 
> 
> Sob...I'm with ya CFFI! I think about that at least once a week--what that team could have been with Sabas in the lineup.


Could have been 3 time defending Champs from 90-92,thats what! Duckworth was good and all but SABAS was just amazing!


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## Dan (Dec 30, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Trader Bob</b>!
> I think Atlanta drafted Sabas one year prior to us if memory serves me right...
> 
> He as ineligible, I think because he was too young at the time....
> ...


Instead of drafting Bird, we drafted Mychal. At least, I think thats how it went..But Bird was a JR, who didn't come out, or some such crap..so the celtics cheated the system..

I'm sure someone remembers it better.


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## RipCityBlazer (May 11, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Crazy Fan From Idaho</b>!
> Just confirming that the Blazers are "unlucky"....
> 
> Sabonis did not come to Portland when he was drafted. :sigh:


Do you realize that if Sabas came over to the US in '86 and Portland drafted MJ instead of Sam Bowie w/ the #2 pick in '84, the Blazers lineup from the mid '80's to the mid/late '90's would have been:

PG-Terry Porter
SG-Michael Jordan
SF-Clyde Drexler (he could play SF)
PF-(I think it was) Jerome Kerse, Rasheed in the mid/late '90s
C-Arvydas Sabonis (AT HIS PRIME)

IF that'd had happened, there would be no Bulls dynasty, and the Lakers and Celtics dynasties would have ended pre-maturly. Portland could have had, litterally, 8 championchips in that time period and it would have the greatest team ever assembled in pro sports history. What could have been, it kills me to realize we got no titles in that time period. Plus, if Walton stayed healthy in the late 70's-mid 80's w/ PDX, (Plus Maurice Lucas) Portland would have around 12, 13, or 14 franchise championchips.

The PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS could have been the most prized and prestigious franchise in pro sports history.

So, yes, Portland is the most unlucky team in the NBA.


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## dkap (May 13, 2003)

I'm not a big fan of taking those "what if" scenarios to the next step of assuming what would have happened. Baskteball is a very situational sport -- right place at the right time. There's a reason the Blazers drafted Bowie ahead of Jordan (and weren't widely criticized for doing so)... Few people thought Jordan was _that_ good at the time. Who's to say he would have developed into the player he became had he been just another piece of the puzzle? Who's to say Sabonis' brittle body would have handled the rigors of the NBA schedule when he was undergoing regular ankle surgeries? Who's to say Clyde would have thrived at small forward (which is largely why they didn't draft Jordan)? Those are equally big "what if's"...

Dan


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## Oregontrailblazer (Jan 3, 2003)

Sorry, I would have to be on board with the 8 championships theory. If we had simply not made a couple of blunders it would have been all possible. Remember, right around the time we didn't draft Jordan we also could have forgone trading half the team to Denver (thus creating the Rock Mountain Trailblazers who played extremely well for many years). We would have had Coop at Center, Calvin Natt at forward, Lafayette (I led the league in rebounding at 6 foot 3), Lever at the point. Terry Porter would have been a backup on that team! Kersey off the bench. Kenny Carr. We would have cleaned up.

To think Jordan would not have developed in Portland the way he did in Chicago is a bit revisionist. I know it's painful to face reality but it happened and here we are. 


In keeping with 20/20 hindsight we could have added Larry Nance to the above mix if we simply had not drafted Jeff Lamp!


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## dkap (May 13, 2003)

> To think Jordan would not have developed in Portland the way he did in Chicago is a bit revisionist.


It's not revisionist, it's just an unknown, same as all the "what if" scenarios. It also ties into my earlier remark about Sabonis. All the hand wringing and calling Portland unlucky implies they're getting the short end of the stick most of the time. If Portland is unlucky for not getting Sabonis in '86, then Atlanta is even more unlucky for not getting him at all.

Except for Jermaine O'Neal and possibly Brian Grant (very debateable), whoever traded with Portland during Whitsitt's years could easily be considered unlucky, because we usually got by far the better of the trades.

Back to Jordan... The league is full of examples of players who are fairly average in one situation and excel in another. Possibly the best player in the league today (McGrady) is a prime example. There's simply no way of knowing what player Jordan would have turned into in Portland. There's a good reason Portland passed on him -- they thought they had a better player at the same posiition in Drexler. Nothing revisionist there that I can see.

Dan


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