Rant Of The Day: Isaac And Suke Love Zach Randolph And Think The Blazers Made A Mistake By Trading Him Away

Yesterday, on Primetime, Isaac & Suke had an interesting take on Zach Randolph.  I was sitting, listening to the show at work, and I have to admit, it got me a little fired up.  I texted the show a couple of times, but my texts were never addressed or read.  So I decided to post my opinion on the topic here, since I have that luxury.

I'm not quite sure what brought about the topic of Zach Randolph on yesterday's show, but I'm assuming it has something to do with the magical playoff run that Randolph is currently having with the Memphis Grizzlies.  On their website yesterday, they also had a poll question asking "Would you welcome Zach Randolph back to the Blazers?"  Contrary to what you might be thinking right now, no, this was not some sort of fake poll question or April Fool's Day joke.  It was a real poll question that someone actually came up with.  And I guess the poll question was of the theorhetical variety too, because it's not like Randolph is going to be a free agent any time soon.  In fact, he just signed a contract extension with Memphis.       

I can't find the actual audio anywhere, so I can't put the direct quotes up here.  But here are some of the points they were making, paraphrased of course.  If anyone has a better recollection or direct quotes, feel free to correct me.

--They repeatedly pointed out the fact that Zach Randolph is a bonafide "20 and 10" guy.  20 and 10 this, and 20 and 10 that.  According to them, the Blazers sure could use someone that has this type of consistency on a game-by-game basis.

--They also claimed that Zach Randolph is a "top 15" player in the NBA right now. 

--They made the comparison that shipping Randolph out of town was as much of a mistake as letting Jermaine O'Neal go and watching O'Neal become a star with Indiana.

--They suggested that the feeling in Portland is that Blazer fans would rather have a team full of "nice guys" that finish 6th or 7th in the West each year, than take a chance on guys who are a little more shady, and win an NBA title.

--Randolph is older now, so that means he's more mature now.  He probably won't get in to any more trouble off the court, like he did when he was here the first time.

Like I said, those aren't exact quotes or anything, but that's pretty much the jist of what they were talking about.  Allow me to share my opinion about all that, in no particular order.

First of all, let's talk about the suggestion that Zach Randolph would ever find his way back onto the Blazers roster.  This is complete madness in every way.  Isaac and Suke talked about how great it would be if Portland got Randolph back and he played the 4 while LaMarcus played the 5 and how awesome that would be for the Blazers, yada yada yada.

Hold on there guys, not only would that not be awesome...it would never, ever work.  Zach Randolph came into the league as a "black hole" and he'll leave the league as a "black hole" too.  Meaning whenever you pass Z-Bo the ball, you might as well kiss that sucker goodbye.  Because that ball ain't going anywhere else.  Randolph could never coexist on a team with Brandon Roy or LaMarcus Aldridge, let alone both guys.  I'm actually surprised that Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo both haven't demanded to be traded, based on how much Randolph needs the ball. 

That's what confused me so much when I was listening to Isaac and Suke go on and on about how great of a player Zach Randolph has become.  I kept asking myself, "why?" -- as in why on God's green Earth would Portland need Zach Randolph?  And why are these two guys on the radio even talking about this as a legitimate topic?? 

There is nothing Zach Randolph does (scoring and rebounding only, the dude plays no defense) that Portland is currently lacking, so adding him to the roster would be foolish.  The team has a go-to guy when they need scoring in LaMarcus Aldridge.  And they have quality rebounders in Gerald Wallace and Marcus Camby.  Yes, Portland has known weaknesses and needs to upgrade at certain positions, but power forward is not one of the positions of need.

At one point during the show, Isaac made the declaration that Z-Bo is a top 15 player in the NBA, and that he is.  But so is LaMarcus Aldridge.  So it's not like the Blazers are missing "top 15 player in the NBA" type talent or anything.  I don't know why the fact that Randolph is a really good should automatically make the Blazers yearn to have him back on their team. 

And finally, I would like to make this point.  As good as Zach Randolph was for the Blazers and is for the Grizzlies, Portland was not a very good team when he was here.  I say this because the way Isaac and Suke were talking (and some of the shows callers, too), you would have thought Portland was making deep playoff runs each year that we had Randolph on the team.  That is far from the case.

Z-Bo's first year with the team was the 2001-02 season.  His last year with the team was the 2006-07 season.  During those years, here are Portland's regular season records: 49-33, 50-32, 41-41, 27-55, 21-61, and 32-50.  The only years we made the playoffs with Zach Randolph on the team were the first two years we had him.  And we lost in the first round both times.  Remember, the last time Portland was a real contender was before Z-Bo was drafted, back when Rasheed Wallace. Steve Smith and Scottie Pippen were leading the team.

The Blazers, as they are currently constructed, may not be perfect or winning an NBA title anytime soon.  But trust me guys, Zach Randolph is not the answer.  And if he is the answer, then I don't want to know the question.  I'm glad that he's worked out for the Grizzlies and all.  But Portland sure as hell doesn't need him coming back to town any time soon. 

Please forgive how unorganized this post was.  I had to write it in response to the nonsense I heard yesterday evening on the radio.  It sure feels good to get it off my chest.  Thanks for reading.