When Is Jamal Crawford Going To Start Complaining About Playing Time Or His Contract?

If you and I were sitting in a bar, having a couple drinks, and you asked me that question, I would say something like "ummm, any day now."  Or better yet, I might say "wait, he hasn't already done that?!?"  Even if we haven't heard about Crawford complaining about something, he most likely has already, am I right?

Until someone successfully argues otherwise, I'll continue to blame most of last season's failure on Jamal Crawford.

A few weeks ago, I caught an article written by Chris Mannix of SI.com about Jamal Crawford.  The article talked a bunch about how Crawford has "matured" and "learned to embrace his role" and other cliches of that nature.

The overall theme of the article is that Crawford used to be young and immature and only cared about "getting his", but now he's changed and mature and ready to do whatever it takes to win and is ready to "take one for the team", so to speak.

But I think it's all hogwash in so many different ways.  Crawford has never been a team player and there is very few reasons he would start being that type of player now.  For his entire career, Crawford has been nothing but a volume shooter that only cared about his prominence on the team.  Chicago, New York (two different stints), Golden State, Atlanta and most definitely here in Portland last season. In fact, it was very well documented that Crawford was one of the players that led the charge against coach Nate McMillan that eventually got him run out of town and fired.

Sorry to be so negative about it, but Jamal Crawford is not going to change.  And if there are any Clippers fans that are buying that story, they are going to be disappointed.  I give it another year before Crawford starts complaining that he should have a bigger role on the team, or just leave for more money somewhere else.

There are very few stories of athletes who start out as young and immature and morph into veterans and mature.  Sadly, it's just hard for them to change that much, no matter how good it sounds to say that.

Interview: Ten Questions With Kacey Montoya, Formally Of Portland's KOIN Local 6



Jenny Hansson and Kacey Montoya

She arrived with very little fanfare, and has just snuck out the back door on us without saying goodbye.  It might be a very long time until the local news industry recovers.  Just kidding, I'm totally being over dramatic.  But seriously...

Kacey Montoya has moved on from Koin Local 6, in case you hadn't heard.  And I'm pretty sure that not many people know actually, because ironically, the news of reporters comings and goings isn't really covered much by the news stations themselves. 

When I typed "Kacey Montoya leaving" into Google, it didn't mention anything about her leaving her current post at KOIN.  But she has indeed moved on from KOIN Local 6, so I guess we could call this her exit interview.

In the current times, where we, as "civilians", have more access than ever before to local news reporters and other local "celebrities", if you will (thanks to Facebook and Twitter), Kacey Montoya has been a pretty good sport to us. 

One of the first exchanges on Twitter that I had with Kacey was me challenging her to take the phrase "passion bucket" (Dan Patrick Show followers know this term very well) and randomly work it into one of the upcoming stories.  And she did just that.  She was doing the "news-we-never-watch-because-it's-on-so-damned-early" shift with Art Edwards, and made a reference to some Iranian politician's passion bucket being full and overflowing, and it was beautiful and hilarious!  The greatest part about it was that you could tell that Art Edwards didn't know what the hell she was talking about, or how to react for that matter.  It was just perfect and awesome.

Folks, Kacey Montoya is good people, and we wish her all the best in her next endeavor.  And hopefully, we'll even check in on her from time to time.  Now on to the questions.

My Thoughts On The Blazers' Moves At The Trade Deadline, And What Has Happened Since

I haven't had the pleasure of posting here in quite some time, so I feel the need to reflect on what has happened to the Blazers in the last month or so.

Personally, I'm not sure what to make of what the Trail Blazers did at the trading deadline yet, but at least it was interesting, right?

On March 15, 2012, the Blazers dramatically and definitively changed the course of the entire franchise.  They shipped Gerald Wallace to New Jersey.  Not long after that, they sent Marcus Camby to Houston.  Then, if you had any question about how serious the Blazers were about shaking things up, head coach Nate McMillan was canned.

For Wallace, the Nets sent Portland their 2012 first round draft pick, Mehmet Okur, and Shawne Williams.  And for Camby, the Blazers became the proud owners of Jonny Flynn and Hasheem Thabeet.  By design, none of the players they got back seemed to be part of the future in Portland.  All except that nice little first round pick in 2012.  That pick was most likely what the Blazers brass started out the day targeting.

Oh and in what seemed like a cherry on top of the dismantling-of-the-team sundae, Portland released Greg Oden to make room for the players that were sent back in the trades.

Did Bill Simmons Jinx Ricky Rubio and The Minnesota Timberwolves?

It's looking like he kinda, sorta did.

Yesterday, I read part one and part two of Bill Simmons' annual "Trade Value Rankings" column.  As we've come to expect with Simmons, it was a good and long (!) read.  I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Simmons take over as GM for an NBA team one day, if that's something he wanted to do.  The guy is always wheelin' and dealin' in his mind.  And it's just one man's opinion, but most of the trade ideas he has make a considerable amount of sense.

So in part two of his column yesterday, Simmons was talking about Ricky Rubio's trade value (Rubio came in at 23rd overall, by the way), and he wrote the following sentence:

"A. Minnesota is going to make the playoffs unless somebody gets hurt."

Annnnnnd, jinxed.  Just like that.  The column was posted yesterday in the early afternoon.  Last night, the Lakers and Timberwolves played, and Rubio tore his ACL, after colliding with Kobe Bryant.  Hmmm, that's a little eerie if you ask me.

Highlights From The '50 Most Worthless Players In The NBA' List

These days, sports themed lists are a staple of a good sports blog.  Bleacher Report is one of the sites out there that uses them quite often.  Their '50 Most Worthless Players in the NBA' is pretty interesting for a few reasons.  Out of the 50 players on the list, there are exactly seven that I've never heard of, and are still in the league mainly to fill a roster spot.

I was surprised to see that one Blazer did make the list.  Some quick thoughts I had while reading through the list:

1. DeSagana Diop.  I don't think they ranked the players, I think they just listed them in no particular order, but DeSagana Diop is the first player you see.  I can't help but think that Diop almost came to Portland along with Gerald Wallace in the trade with the Bobcats.  Now that's a scary thought.  The state of the Blazers could actually be worse than it presently is, if you can believe that...

Beating A Dead Horse: The Steve Nash Trade Rumors

As we get into the last couple of weeks before the March 15 trade deadline in the NBA, it's going to get pretty crazy for the Blazers.  If you're already growing tired of hearing about all the potential moves Portland is going to make, then hold on.  It's only a couple of weeks before it's all over, but it's going to get worse for you, before it gets better.

Personally, I don't mind the trade deadline.  It's nothing, if not entertaining.  Even when Portland doesn't pull the trigger and do anything, it's still fun to talk about.

As far as Portland is concerned, all the talk is still focused on Steve Nash.  I've written about the Nash rumors previously here and here, and have said that I would be in favor of Portland going and getting Nash, no matter what the cost, even if he is a "rental" for the rest of this season only. 

ESPN's Marc Stein posted an article on Wednesday about Nash's current situation and mentioned that the Blazers are one of the teams still interested in acquiring the point guard from the Suns.  The other team that has been mentioned recently is Orlando. 

In response to Stein's article mentioning Portland's desire to get Nash, a couple dudes over at Bleacher Report posted their thoughts on the matter.  In the first article, the guy argues that Steve Nash-to-Portland makes absolutely no sense for the Suns or the Blazers to pursue.  (Let me just interject here and say the thing that makes even less sense than a Nash to Portland trade is the Blazers' current point guard situation.)

He points out that unless the Suns get Batum back from Portland, it wouldn't help them at all.  He then points out that even with acquiring Nash, the Blazers are still "a player away from being a true contender."  Both of those points are valid, and I don't completely disagree with them.

OregonSportsNews.com Had A Roundtable Discussion On The Blazers, And I Was There

I've been contributing to Oregon Sports News for a few weeks now and have really enjoyed doing so.  Last week, one of my fellow writers had the idea to do a "roundtable discussion" post about the Blazers and all the hot topics surrounding the team right now.  Things like, why they suck so bad, why they aren't playing very good right now, and last, but not least, why the suck so bad. 

That article was posted today and you can find it here.  There were 5 questions posed to those who took part.  Here are my answers to those questions.

Question 1:  Who should the Trail Blazers ship out before the March 15 trade deadline?

Answer:  When I first think of this question the first two players that come to mind are Nic Batum and Raymond Felton.  But if teams started asking for Gerald Wallace instead of Batum, I wouldn’t even think twice about it.  This team needs a change, and if you ask me, it’s pick a player, any player.  But if you’re talking about who they should be shopping, I’d say Batum and Felton.

Malcolm Marable, The Oregon Ducks And Duck Fans

 This past Sunday morning, at precisely 1:01 AM, Malcolm Marable, who plays cornerback for the Oregon State Beavers, was pulled over and ticketed for speeding.  Marable was clocked driving 104 mph on Interstate 5, in a car that didn't belong to him, and without proper documentation.  His total fine was reported as being $1,148 bucks.

This offseason has not been a kind one for Mike Riley and the Beavers.  Riley's already had to suspend two other defensive backs for getting into trouble, and something like this surely does not help things in Corvallis.  Marable has been suspended indefinitely now, and Riley is going to make sure he pays for his poor choices.

Unless you are a die-hard Beaver fan, listen to sports radio on a daily basis, or follow local Beaver blogs, you may not have heard much about this story yet.  It is getting media attention, just not that much media attention.  And the coverage that this story is getting isn't very in-depth or complex.  It's had a feel of "okay, here is something stupid this football player did a few days ago, he's been punished, and now you can proceed with the rest of your day as regularly scheduled."

If John Canzano has written a scathing column about it, I haven't seen it yet.  He may have talked about it on his radio show though, but I don't listen to his show regularly, so I haven't heard it mentioned on there.  The dudes over on Primetime has most likely mentioned it, but it surely has not generated many listeners who feel the need to call in to the show to talk about it, like what transpired when Cliff Harris was caught breaking the law in virtually the same fashion.

Everyone has kinda, sorta moved on from this Malcolm Marable story and don't care that much anymore.  Well, everyone, except for Duck fans, of course.

Can This Thing Get Any Worse For The Blazers?

Well, the short answer is yes.  Of course things could get worse.  Things can always get worse.

Last night, I didn't watch a minute of the game (if you want to refer to it as that) between Portland and the "woeful" Washington Wizards (not that bad, are they now Blazer fans?!).  I switched cable companies a few months back, so I don't have Comcast SportsNet at home.  The only thing I miss about not having Comcast, is not having Comcast SportsNet.  But last night, I was actually thankful that I had no access to watch the horror that unfolded last night at the Rose Garden.

I checked the score on my phone, and was just disgusted by what I saw.  If two days off, followed by a home game with a team with one of the worst records in the NBA can't get a little bit of the team's mojo and confidence back, then sadly, you're running out of options of things that can help get the mojo back.

I don't know what it is, but there is definitely a problem with this team.  Something isn't clicking.  I don't know specifically who is to blame.  Honestly, the only person I would say is holding up their end of the bargain is Aldridge.  That last sentence also includes the coaches, as well as the players.  No one is free from blame, except maybe Aldridge.

I Really Like Chip Kelly Sometimes

Ol' Charles Kelly can sure be a redass some of the time -- wait, most of the time actually -- but man he's got some great moments, too.  If anyone knows how to get this sound bite as my phone ringtone, send me an email.