Disclaimer: Please don't take this post to seriously. It is meant to be a mere distraction to those in a state of off-season boredom like myself. I apologize if anyone from the organization finds my scrutiny (intended to be humorous) offensive. At least I'm directing traffic your way. If you intend to read this post, it is best viewed in tandem with another window open. Point the second window's browser to the official website of the Portland Trailblazers. No, I don't know how to post a link, so we are taking a field trip. Pay attention to the ad.

Ok, I'm one of those guys that really despises the generation X propaganda that you find so readily on you tube that attack whatever political leader we have at the time and tying them to the Illuminati and UFOs and Bigfoot's hairy buttcrack. That said, I do pay attention to the subtleties of advertising (for those that don't know how that all tied together, the Illuminati supposedly rules the world through various corporations whose symbols and rituals can be seen in their logos and advertising). I just thought it was a bit funny that the Blazer's newest "Imagine Oden next year" season ticket ad on the official website displays five Blazers. There is, of course,  Oden in the middle, where a center would symbolically be.  To either side of him are Aldridge and Roy, comprising our big three.  To the sides of Roy and Aldridge you have Outlaw and Webster, who are both wing players (well, kind of). Notice anything missing? Hmmm.....no point guards. There are a few conclusions that can be drawn from this if you really want to scrutinize it:

Roy is going to handle the ball, no matter who we bring in. I like the ball in Roy's hands. I want a pure point on this team, but if we have to wait a year or two to get one, I don't mind this. If this scenario holds true (funny this ad began the day after we find out Calderon is going to stay in Toronto), it would lend more credence to the drafting of yet another young point guard (ugh!). Also of note is that in Tom's recent fanshot, Brandon said he wanted to work on stretching his game out and focus on shooting so that he doesn't take such a huge toll on his body.

The theoretical starting five are Roy, Oden, Aldridge, Outlaw, and Webster. There are more questions here than there are about the previous theory. Can Outlaw learn how to be effective as a Small Forward? Are there enough touches to spread out between these guys as a unit? If you think about it, aside from Oden's injury this lineup is more likely next year than it was this year. You barely ever even hear the name Rudy Fernandez without hearing the name Manu Ginobili. If he is going to be an explosive sixth man, and be his most effective, Trout doesn't fit as well on the second unit. This would make the second unit (an exciting one if you ask me) Big Vanilla, Frye,  Fernandez, Blake, and  James Jones. This gives us a good place for James Jones to play and hopefully this makes him want to stick around. This makes the most sense to me, and although he is one of my favorites, I honestly think the future of this team's roster hinges on Travis' ability to play the 3.

If they trade one of these guys, it would be...Well no surprise here. Good buddies like Brandon and Travis should be featured side by side in a good ad. But who's that kinda dangling off to the side over there? Where you going Marty? Are you looking for a house on the other side of the river there? Or are you getting ready to move somewhere farther away? Heck, look at LaMarcus' face: he looks surprised that Martell is still there behind him, doesn't he? Meanwhile Brandon and Travis look the other way and Greg just kinda stands there all oblivious like.

If all of the above is just a case of looking too deep into everything out of off-season boredom, or even if it is a case of ad-art imitating life, there are some conclusions that are undeniable:

All of our current Point Guards were not good enough for the ad. Spanish Chocolate, Blake, and J-Jack are not here. This is because they don't have the fanbase support. Advertising concepts are simple: maximize the products positives, minimize the products negatives (see all the ads for allergy medicine where the quiet, pleasant voice tells you that you may have abnormal bleeding out of all your holes until you die). Maybe this is a case of hiding an embarrassing negative. Maybe this is a way to say that none of them are starters. Either way, if I'm one of the above listed guys, I'm wondering about my future.