Shareef calls it quits

by kickbrass on Sep 22, 2008 10:36 PM PDT Comment 18 comments

Shareef Abdur-Rahim is calling it a career after giving up on his latest recovery from knee surgery. I remember Abdur-Rahim coming to Portland as the "centerpiece" of the Rasheed Wallace trade and being underwhelmed but irrationally optimistic that the Blazers knew what they were doing at that point dumping one of my favorite (albeit embattled) Blazers. I remember being very bummed out that they just missed the playoffs by one game (41-41, familiar?) and then everything went to pieces after the Z-Bo and Miles extensions. Abdur-Rahim seems like he's always been a good guy who never lived up to his potential as a top-3 pick. I wish him well in his post-basketball endeavors, though.

My question for you all: did Shareef make enough of an impact during his Blazers tenure to be considered a Blazer by posterity? Or was he just another player who passed through but didn't make an impression on the Blazermaniacs of Portland? He came during a dark time of the Jailblazer era, does that matter?

Discuss ...

Poll

Do you consider Shareef Abdur-Rahim a Blazer now that he's retired?

Yes! He holds a special place in Blazer history for his efforts.

24 votes

No! Those years of Blazers history never happened.

110 votes

Who?

33 votes

167 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 18 comments

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Comments

I like him but don't really consider him a Blazer.

Good luck to the guy in whatever he does.

by Bskey on Sep 22, 2008 10:45 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

I see him more as a player for those Vancouver teams, and then bounced around till he called it quits.

by usdblazerfan on Sep 22, 2008 11:10 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Noway

He mentioned to the press right out of the gate he wanted outta here,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Just another transient!

by Dragonage on Sep 22, 2008 11:21 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

He was still in the NBA?

oh sorry.

by Bust a Bucket on Sep 23, 2008 12:54 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

The Kings probably will hire him as a big-man coach

That would be deserved, and he will have something to do with his skills. He was a good player, yet not a star, and that one All-Star appearance was rather the exception. The wear-and-tear on his knee prevented an even better career since he missed 20 games per year on average if you count all season. As for his teams, I always considered him a player for the Grizzlies (he might have been their first franchise player) or the Hawks, not a Blazer. But he also wasn’t a bad kid for the Blazers, and while not necessarily deserving a “special place in Blazer history” he shouldn’t be remembered negatively. So I didn’t vote for any of the above choices.

St. Bayno's 120 Haiku Prospects: Nicolas Batum in the paint—prairie grass, blown by wind.

by Norsktroll on Sep 23, 2008 2:03 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I always liked him as a person, but as a blazer player, he kinda sucked. He was a nice guy in a bad situation. Tough for anyone.

http://www.myspace.com/y5k

by Y5k on Sep 23, 2008 6:21 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I liked him.

But I don’t consider him a Blazer. We were just kind of a train stop for him, he was supposed to be traded a lot sooner. I do remember him winning that game for us vs. the Celtics. It was tough times.

My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.

by OCBlazerFan1 on Sep 23, 2008 7:14 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I consider him a Blazer

More than Von Wafer (who?), Taurean Green or McLovin.

We consider James Jones a Blazer and he played significantly fewer games than S.A-R.

by DonkeyShins on Sep 23, 2008 8:20 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

But...

James Jones won us 13 games in a row, i want him remembered as a blazer

by Croatian_Sensation on Sep 24, 2008 4:44 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I am sad to see that he had to call it a career due to injury. He was always one of my favorite NBA players. I don’t really consider him a Blazer though. His best years were as a Griz and Hawk.

Question: Do you think Aldridge will have a better career?
I think he will have a very similar career stats wise. Hopefully LaMarcus won’t have to spend his entire career on terrible to mediocre teams.

Brett Pill - Lord of the double.

by malarky on Sep 23, 2008 8:53 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs