The Blazers may have been thought of a "joke" through some of the recent turbulent years, but not to this extent. I was reading Supersonicsoul's blog http://www.supersonicsoul.com and their wrap-up of the many changes in the Northwest division teams.

"Steve Allen's hiring of Kevin Pritchard looks pretty good from here, and I'm guessing Nate McMillan will have quite a bit of fun beating up on the Sonics this year."

That could explain some problems we've had.

I'll take Paul and his financial muscle, although Steve has done some pretty funny bits.

I do however forgive "Soul" though, since a bit later he says: "Call me crazy, but a healthy Greg Oden puts the Blazers right there with Denver and Utah for the best in the Northwest."