Portland 93, Charlotte 69

Last night, the Blazers welcomed back the guys they just traded away to the Rose Garden, as the Charlotte Bobcats made their only trip to Portland they'll be making this season.

The only Blazer performance worth noting is LaMarcus Aldridge's 26 points and 7 boards.  Marcus Camby did help out with some much-needed hustle and 10 rebounds of his own.  Camby seems to be getting back into the swing of things after the time he missed with his knee injury.

Joel Przybilla had only 5 points and 2 rebounds, but the best part of the night were the two standing ovations the Rose Garden crowd gave him when he came into the game and when he fouled out of the game.  One of his six fouls was truly Przybilla-esque, when he hit Gerald Wallace in the face as Wallace was going up for a layup.  Przybilla apologized to Wallace after smacking him in the face.

The Rose Garden fans even chanted "Joel Pryz-bil-la" a couple of times during the game, a  Rose Garden trend that I am definitely growing to love.

Maybe the most interesting thing about this game, though, was Gerald Wallace's quote about how he felt betrayed when he learned that the Bobcats had traded him.  "Basically, you feel betrayed by somebody you love.....I totally didn’t see it coming. I’d been there seven long years and then you feel like you’re not wanted anymore. That’s a bad situation to be in, especially for me, who committed so much to the organization."

Fans Say Goodbye To Przybilla, But Will He Be Back?

Well it's no secret that Joel Przybilla was a fan favorite here in Portland, to say the least.  For many years, he was without doubt our toughest player and represented any sort of backbone that the Blazers had.  Which by the way, wasn't a lot. 

Trades in the NBA are always a little bittersweet for most casual fans.  That was the case on Thursday when the Blazers sent Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham and Sean Marks to the Charlotte Bobcats for All Star forward Gerald Wallace.  As Przybilla was flying out late Friday night, more than a few fans met him at the airport to show their appreciation.

The Oregonian's Blazer beat writer Jason Quick apparently showed up as well, and talked to Joel before he boarded his flight to Charlotte.  Quick wrote, "Przybilla did not rule out the possibility of having his contract bought out by Charlotte, and he smiled wryly when talking about the Blazers.

"I still think there might be a chance I can come back," Przybilla said late Friday night at Portland International Airport, where he prepared to board a flight to Charlotte. "It may be next year,  but I think there’s more. I don’t think it’s over just yet. I just have that hunch."

"When I signed here seven years ago, I had one foot out of the NBA, and I didn’t expect Portland to be like this."