In my continuing quest to recognize the brilliance of Terry Porter, I asked Brian Hendrickson of the Vancouver Columbian for his thoughts on the greatest point guard in Blazers history. Here's what Mr. Hendrickson had to say.
A guy who was never traded during his NBA career — which says everything about how valuable his teams considered him — and won pretty much everywhere he went, from the two Finals appearances with Portland to leading Minnesota to its first playoff berth and winning season, to competing for championships in San Antonio.
Unfortunately, he's the kind of guy whose numbers will always be used against him to say he's a step short of Hall of Fame quality, but whose teammates will probably say he was one of the most important components in their success.
I'm not sure what the criteria should be for retiring numbers -- it's hard to establish a hard set of rules in stone and have it be fair to everyone. But I will say that if the criteria makes room for Lionel Hollins to be in the Rose Garden's rafters, Porter should be there too."
Many thanks to Mr. Hendrickson. Now it's your turn.
Haven't yet emailed me your memories of TP? Do it now.
-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)