FanPost

MB talks with Oden and Miles

MB's latest entry: He talks to Oden, who feels really welcomed, and to Darius.  The gist of it is MB has seen Darius in the gym rehabbing hard every day, and Aldridge asked him if he's going to play with them.

Let's all step back for a moment.  Say we pick Oden (just for the sake of argument).  Say Miles comes back, maybe halfway through the season.  What if it works?  Bear with me here.  Let's go over the problems we've had with Miles and Zach:

Dysfunctional locker room, bad examples, lack of effort (at least for Miles), overpaid (though Zach may earn his if he improves).  This all has to be solved for things to work.  Here's how it would go down:

Everybody is giddy at the prospect of playing with Oden; this pushes Miles to the realization that he wants to be a meaningful part of the organization again, and pushes him to work hard for it (with his injury, there is no other choice).

Take their personalities into consideration knowing this: they are not leaders, and they were given that role in the wake of Portland's organizational downfall.  How much did the general dysfunction from top-to-bottom affect these players and exsacerbate their bad habits?  Especially when they were called to set an example, especially when we had Wells and Patterson hanging around, and losses piling up.  

They don't have to lead.  Roy leads, Jack leads, Aldridge sets examples, Udoka sets examples, LaFraentz is a good locker influence, the Pat Burke-esque guy every team needs for those overlooked off-court intangibles.  

The culture has done a 180.  Shouldn't we re-evaluate Miles and Zach in light of their changed roles in a changed environment?  Zach showed something in the second half last year.  He has his problems, but he played better team ball.  He didn't bristle at the fact that we were more and more becoming Roy's team.  Switching your style and attitude can take a while; he seemed to make strides in a half-season.  That seems to be an excellent sign.

Imagine Darius solving our SF problem.  Imagine Zach hanging around for a year so to see where things stand while Aldridge wins the Sixth Man of the Year award in a landslide (McHale started out this way, but people have forgotten this; he is still the only player to ever win the award consecutively).  Aldridge might benefit more with another year of bulking up while getting 30 minutes off the bench without the pressures of starting.

It's a tall order, and bad feelings abound, but this is a new Portland TrailBlazers organization, with new leadership, actual chemistry, unity, and Pritchard.  The above scenario may not be as far fetched as you first believed.

Starting line-up

Jack
Roy
Ime/Miles
Zach/Aldridge
Oden/Aldridge/Joel