the blazers had so many problems as far as i can remember and no matter how talented they were they could not get it done. I hope they win the title in the 2009-2010 season, but I dont think they will win the title. I just say what I really think if that was the quetion.

Unless they can really come together and win it by 2010-11 at the latest as the mayan calendar ends soon thereafter. When that happens their window will be shut.

We have too much talent on the team right now. We need to consolidate down to our core.. and then fill out the roster with reliable role players. I think it’ll take roughly 2 seasons to properly do that.

I do see the championship starting lineup looking like this… Bayless, Rudy, Roy, LA, & Oden….—> absolutely deadly!

I think both Webster and Outlaw are capable of filling that 6th man spot.. but I definitely see one of them moving on before or during the championship run. Frye and Pryz will ride it out… they’ll be money off the bench and happy doing it.

I see magic this year, or possibly next. Something BIG is going to happen….

Like others I see this year as a maybe/probably playoff year with lots of improvement but a lot of growing pains assimilating new, key players who haven’t played in the NBA before. Hopefully we make the playoffs barring injuries to key players. Big upside is we win the NW division (I think this is do-able).

2009 offseason: decisions about Blake, T-law, etc re: picking up last year of contracts and whether to sign any free agents. Nate’s contract gets extended.

2009-2010, the key players really start to gel and we make a deep playoff run. Optimistically they take the title, but I think they probably aren’t there yet by then.

2010 offseason: KP may hold cap space for this year and in doign so may be a relatively big name on the team, although they may not need it. Lots of other big names move around.

2010-2011: Team is powerful and other top teams are still working out kinks with new superstar players moving teams. BRoy and LA are in their 5th years and the team takes the title.

how Bayless and Fernandez are going to fit, and how good they will be. If Bayless turns into the great point guard we need him to be, Fernandez plays like Manu off the bench then I think the Blazers could win it next year or the year after. Realistically probably the 2010-2011 season.

When Roy said it takes some luck he wasn’t kidding. This teams success is heavily depending on whether or not Oden, Aldridge, and Roy are healthy during the playoffs.

but I wouldn’t have considered this team going for .500 last year. My reasoning for the year is 2 fold. First, there seem to be 2 types of teams when there is a lot of potential. Those that disappoint and those that deliver when no one sees it coming. I think that if this teams has the opportunity they will take full advantage of that. They should be able to be a bit better than a dark horse for a title run at the end of next season, and as long as there is a reasonable shot at it (ie. there isn’t a team out there that for certain has them beat before they step into the arena) then I think I would have to say this team will rise to the challenge. Second, the way KP has wheeled and dealed so far, and given our current situation, there will be a lot of chips on the table in the next year. That man should be able to play the hand that he’s put together well and accelerate the time table. He should be in a position to put together a deal that will be tough for most people to refuse, and get that piece that we need.

The safe answer would be 2010-2011 or even the following season. I would go with that too, but for the afore mentioned reasons I have to give the edge to the summer of 2010. I think there is a good shot for the playoffs this season (to say the least). If this team makes it into the second round this year, thus confirming my suspicion that they rise to challenges, then I think we could likely see the mission accomplished by 2010.

This year we make it to the WCF and get beat, either by the L*kers or Rockets (if Yao is healthy). The “surprise factor” was brought up earlier, and I believe its a valid one. However I dont think it will be enough to take us all the way this year. Its a wonderful pipe dream and all, but the reality is there are some really good teams on the horizon and not just the Blazers.

However, the Blazers certainly have the components to become the greatest out there. The team we have right now is already shaping up into something to be proud of. The chemistry and work ethic alone are something to behold. We have a team that is deep enough in the bench where we could just out hussle other teams. By the time most starting players get to the playoffs, they have played the equivelent of 70-82 games by themselves with bench players filling in the remaining time. With our bench, our starters will be lucky to see more then 60 total played games. Thats a huge advantage. And for an already young team to have that. Wow. Those will be some exciting fast paced playoff games. Why do you think analysists look at benches during the playoffs so much? Its because the players who carry a team the furthest into the playoffs usually are the bench players. Those wonderful “X factor” players. We already have a load of them.

As for the gel period, I have this sneaky suspision that the team is already there if not pretty dang close. We have a team of selfless players who want to go out there and play team ball. Granted we still have some spots to figure out (like PG and SF) but it will happen this year, and it will happen faster then people think.

Its a great time to be a Blazer fan for sure.

Our team will revolve arund Roy & Aldridge. King Kevin will hear by kight them both as ready and fully able to carry the load. But the weight they carry will be decptively lighter than the most noble of stars and there in lies the key to this years quest for the holy grail.

Our kights 3-11 are off the charts in talent. Points. We have so many men who are gearing up physically and mentally, taking the offseason workout so seriously it is downright scary.

But the key to calling this shot, is our newest and most powerful member of the Blazers roundtable, Sir Lancelot err, Sir Oden himself.

The power, discipline and versatility will meld and grow swiftly, suprising most experts. The yellow clad nemisis from Mordred will fall this year.

No fairy tale, just fact. This year, right now, the legend will be born. Think not? Well remember this, it has come to our fair city before.

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/14573-POD/1612812~The-Accolade-c-1901-Posters.jpg

Year after next. I’m going to go away from popular opinion and say we won’t win a championship until Webs, or T-Law (or both??) are traded for a PG or defensive SF. We have a great starting five. I like Marty and Law. But we need a dominating starting five. We need to get a great two for one, or three for one player and round out the bench with guys like Hill, and Jackson (they “know their role and shut their mouth”). I hate to say it, but we have too many good players.

…2011-2012.

Consider ‘08 – ’09 the year of the launch. We’re just coming off a 41-41 season – not minus, not plus….zero. For the first time, the nucleus and general cast of characters is in place. You could say the present optimism has just about balanced out the pessimism of the recent downturn. Considering the brutal schedule, this year will be all about gaining momentum and chemistry. First round of playoffs is clearly possible but upper echelon teams are still too savvy and talented.

Having tasted the fruit of a winning season, ‘09 -’10 promises another trip to the playoffs. Expect a major acquisition this year at the SF or PG position. This will require a minor adjustment period as popular players may be involved in a trade. The new player will be considered the “final piece”. A deep playoff run is probable as the formerly elite teams begin to fade. Over-enthusiastic fans are getting antsy and despite continued success, begin calling for Nate’s head.

In ‘10 – ’11, the team rallies behind Coach McMillan and the timing seems right for a championship run, with chemistry, momentum and fan energy all coming together. This year, look for the Blazers to set a new regular-season win record and advance to the finals. With respect for the difficult challenge of winning it all, I’m saying the Blazers will be turned back this year, possibly by the Pistons or Magic.

Like a pack of wild dogs, the Blazers have the taste of the ultimate prize fresh in their mouth and will not be denied in ’11 – ’12. Minor peripheral roster changes continue to fine tune the machine. The core is now entering their prime years and the Trailblazers seem to have it all: chemistry, pride, experience and a following drunk with that old-time feeling: Blazermania.

Beyond 2012, I see two, maybe three more championships. Things are just too fluid in the NBA and people (yes, even Blazer fans) get bored too easily these days. I don’t see any 6-8 year dynasties happening any time soon.

Disclaimer: the above is purely speculation, based on observation over the years. Who can know the future? Only CBass.

Oden will get them into the playoffs.

Brandon Roy will show everybody that he cannot be beat in a 7 game series.

Alright, for purposes of this exercise I’m going to abandon the realist in me and embrace The Blazer fan. Disclamer: After the following few sentences. Baby steps people, we haven’t even made it back to the playoffs. Plus Championships are difficult, not guaranteed for anyone. Ever since we won the lottery and honked once, people have been counting on a championship thank god it’s possible but understand even one championship is far from a given. It’s a goal, not a given.

Now for the unbridled Blazer fan. Assuming perfection, good health, optimal development and KP handles the icing on the cake tweaking of the roster like a master and exits the right pieces while bringing in the right piece or pieces, I think 2011-2012. Some may be shocked that this is as optimistic as I can be, but today, we still are a young, young team. I think we need to take the steps. Success will be defined rung by rung. Our first step comes hopefully this season in returning to what should be perenial playoff appearance. Then we need to learn, age and gain experience, I think you need or will experience at least one run where you go deep, WCF and lose. Ask Phoenix and Seattle of the 90’s how hard it is to make it to the finals, let alone win a Championship. The great possibilty with this team is that it is so young, so conceivably when we reach the true contender stage of our existence, we can maintain it hopefully for many years. We should have a Glass Patio Door size window of Multiple Championship opportunity.

Really, I will go with next year, 2009-2010.

Give them one year to play together, learn each others habits and preferences, experiment with rotations, and just plain mesh as a team.
  
Give Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix, and Kobe one more year to age and slow down.Give New Orleans another disappointing playoff loss to question each other and self-destruct.

In 2010, the Blazers defeat Utah in the WCF and Lebron and Friends in the Finals to bring the championship back to Portland.

I know this, because every time I move to a new city one of its major sports franchises wins a World Championship within two years. It’s true:

1) November 1975: I was born in Portland, OR. Spring of ’77 Walton and the boys bring it home.

2) January 1994: I move to San Francisco. Shortly thereafter I’m dodging crazy Niner fans breaking windows on Market street.

3) Y2K I move to Los Angeles. F*cking L*kers…

4) Moved to Seattle, one year later the refs handed the Superbowl to the Steelers. I still say my streak is alive, the Seahawks were hosed.

5) My last move was back home to P-town. Two weeks later we win Oden in the draft. This year, we win it all.

2008-09. Unavoidable. Plan the parade now.

Oden will be wearing one of these things:

!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:GeordiLaForge.jpg

I’m just kidding, guys.

I think the only reasonable way to look at this is that the chance of a Blazer championship increases every year, for about 8 yrs, and then decrease every year thereafter.

The Blazers have a young talented core, an excellent GM, and an owner w/ deep pockets. On the other hand, Roy and Oden haven’t proven very durable, and star players are irreplaceable. They also face stiff competition in the West; LAL, NO, and UTA haven’t even reached their peak, and those teams are still young. Potentially, they can play at an elite level for 6, 7, 8 yrs?

I’m going to say it will take 7 yrs; one year after nemesis kobe bryant retires, 2015-2016.

I see Utah as having quite a bug up their jutz, as my Wisconsin ex-gf’s mom would say.
I think they do what it takes to fend off Portland for the division title this season, no matter what Portland does.

That being the case, and with the Suns, Spoors, and Mavs just starting a get-old decline,
the Blazers will not be a top-4 seed this year, which means they’ll have to:
a) Fight against home-court advantage (even in the first round), and
b) Not get an easy matchup at least once, which teams that make the Finals always do.

Or, in other words, or first champeenship season will be one where we either win the division,
or be a division-champ-quality top wild card, where our division has multiple juggernauts,
like the southwest has had a lot lately, or like the Pacific had with the Kings and L[xxx]rs a few years ago,
or the Bulls’ Central Division dynamics in the 90’s (first the Pistons, then the Pacers).

Does that come as early as 09-10? I say yes.
By then, I think two of the Suns/Mavs/Spoors will be in full blow-it-up-and-rebuild mode,
AND the Jazz might be stumbling; Boozer’s a free agent in the 09 off-season,
I’m not so sure Mehmet’s got much longer before his basic body type starts having injury issues,
I don’t see Koufos being ready to take his place in just his second NBA year,
and AK-47, with 3 years still on his contract right now, will still be a payroll albatross.

Add it all up, and I see us as division champs in 09-10, AND there won’t be a better wild card team.
It should be us, the Hornies, and the L[xxx]rs as the creme de la creme of the West,
one per division as division champs, and the top 3 seeds, in whatever order.
And I think that’s gonna be the case until one of the rebuilding teams
(maybe someone from the Mavs/Suns/Spoors trio, maybe one of the current rebuilders,
like Minnie, the Ex-Sonics, or the Kings) rises up like we’re doing now.
But they’ll all be in limbo for at least the 09-10 season, maybe longer.

Also, by 2010, the Sell-tix should be SERIOUSLY hitting the wall,
and other than the Magic, I don’t know who in the East
is poised to IMPROVE to contender status over the next two seasons.
Pistons right about where the Spoors are now, Cavs distracted by the LeBron contract drama,
Bulls and Heat ascending but not quite there: I smell a Western Conference champ for several seasons,
starting this season if the Sell-tix can’t keep their high for another hundred games,
and starting in 09-10 if Boston holds it together for one last season before bowing out, Elway-style.

So who’s it gonna be among the LA-Portland-N.O. trio in the 2010 playoffs?

I think it’s us.
I think Odom becomes a serious distraction after this upcoming season unless LA moves him;
if they do, a quality return package could keep them ready.
But between Phil and Coby, I smell 2004-quality chemistry issues hitting them mid-season in 09-10.
They’ll muddle through this upcoming campaign in good spirits on the highs of the Cobylympics,
Bynum’s warm welcome, and Pau’s first training camp integration.
But a year later? The wheels start coming off of that thang in subtle ways, baby.
I think either the Blazers OR Hornies would take them out in the second round.

So it’s all about a Hornies-Blazers matchup in the 2010 playoffs.
And it’s our depth that puts us over the hump in that matchup, especially with Peja being
a full two years older than he is now, and feeling 3 consecutive deep playoff runs.
It’s a good matchup in the first 2 or 3 games, but by game 6, they are spent.

There ya go.
Blazers’ first championship in the 2010 playoffs, following the 09-10 season.

……………………… just because so many of you are homers.

2008 – 2009 (this upcoming season): 6 votes
2009 – 2010 (the next season): 11 votes
2010-2011: 7 votes
2011-2012: 5 votes
2015-2016: 1 vote

I just scrolled for actual predictions, looking for a numbered date.
So I did not distinguish between non-predictions and no-title-ever, like the first reply.

2016-2017

at least once.

For it to happen everything has to work out as well as we hope we think it will. Lets face it, we havent seem this team play together yet, and there is still a few well established clubs left out there who on veteranship alone will make our relatively young group of guys think twice about how easy winning is going to be.

So, if it all goes right for P-town, no major injuries, and team chemistry is not an issue… it’ll take 3 more seasons of development to finally take it.

That’s really looking into the crystal ball. I think next season we still need a lot of time to develop. We narrowly make the playoffs, and exit in the first or second round to gain some playoff experience. And then our options how to make the team stronger (and how the opposition gets stronger) come into play.

How to win it asap, maybe as soon as 2008-09: At the deadline, we trade RLEC, Outlaw, Rodriguez and Blake for Tayshaun Prince and Chauncey Billups. Somehow, Detroit says yes and goes into rebuilding, and we destroy the competition with a brilliant young-experienced lineup of Billups, Roy, Prince, Aldridge, Oden. Somehow I don’t see this happening.

How to maybe win it in 2009-10: We sign (or trade for) Danny Granger in the off-season. (If we instead sign Kobe, all bets are off, five years of domination despite horrible flashes of bad team chemistry.) Everybody develops very quickly, and we narrowly beat LA or the Hornets in the WCF, then go on to beat whoever comes out of the ECF in the finals. Bad case: Well, we don’t come out of the West, and still need a season or two more to develop our very young core.

In the 2010 off-season, the deck gets shuffled again completely with a lot of major free agents on the market, and while most will stay some will switch teams making some much stronger. That makes predictions for the following years hard. Here is a shot.

The East: Version a) Cleveland manages to retain LeBron, and acquires Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudamire or Dwayne Wade with their massive cap space to dominate the East for most of the next decade. Version b) LeBron goes to a crappy team in New York, Orlando acquires Chris Bosh, and dominates the East for most of the next decade with their twin tower front court. Boston and Detroit are soon too old to play a major role. Washington and Philly might have one shot at the finals. Miami and Chicago might get strong again if everything works out for them.

The West: Blazers, Lakers, Hornets are the powers in the West, all able to beat each other in a playoff series. Memphis is the dark horse. San Antonio, Phoenix, Dallas are declining. Jazz implode after Carlos Boozer and/or Mehmet Okur leave again for more money.

Oh, and Spain wins the World Championships in 2010 led by Ricky and Rudy, cause the US doesn’t care enough about these. Book it.

Either the Blazers will win it all in 2010-2011, and then go one to win three to five more championships immediately in the following seasons… Or…

The Blazers run headlong into New Orleans and Chris Paul and can never get out of the WCF.

I’m hopeful for the former scenario, but the pessimist sees the latter as a distinct possibility.

I think the Blazers HAVE to win it in the next year or two to keep this unit together. We are freakishly talented right now, and only going to improve with age. I can see the Blazers overachieving again next year, and making a strong push into the playoffs, but running into either Chris Paul, Tim Duncan, or Kobe. The following year, 09-10, Oden delivers.

I think this year, 08-09, they will make the playoffs and maybe get to the second round…Next year, 09-10, they’ll win a series or two and start to figure out what it takes to “make it over the hump”. Then, in 2010-2011, they will know what it takes, they will all have that playoff experience, and they will make a run at the title and win it all in what will be one of at least 4 titles in the next 10 years!

Otherwise two year longer.

Reasons:

1) I’m optimistic. As an organization, Portland is doing things right. We’ve seen the results in a seadily improving record.

2) I’m optimistic. The youngest team in the league just missed the playoffs last year and is adding a huge helping of additional young talent.

3) I’m optimistic. Greg Oden is looking like a young Shaq, only better. If history is any indicator, he should account for a 10 win improvement just by himself.

4) I’m optimistic. Sometimes you capture magic in a bottle. An inspired McMillan, coming off Olympic gold, gets his team to further band together. A young team with good chemistry believes in itself and reaches the playoffs not just glad to be there, but convinced that they are better than any other team in the league.

5) I’m realistic. Life doesn’t always go according to script. Which means that the unexpected is always a real possibility.

Everybody important is injury prone, almost nobody was built to be a pure role player, almost nobody has seen playoff action, the team has yet to show it can defend or run, and the team hasn’t seen the playoffs in ages. Yet somehow Blazer fans are debating which year they’ll win their first title. I’ll take 2010-2011.

I think we can look for the first (no I won’t say realistic) shot at a title in 2009-2010. The playoffs this year…..and a little seasoning. Then next year, when the team is comfortable playing together…..look out NBA.

However I won’t completely dismiss the chance of making a huge push this season. Every now and then a team catches lightning in a bottle….and I admit to hearing an electrical cracking noise coming from Portland…..

That said: 2009-2010.

The Blazers defeat the Fakers in the WCF, blowing up that team as Kobe is denied yet another ring post-Shaq. "Tell me how da’ feet taste! "

We win in 5, a walk-over against the resurgent but last-chance Pistons old guard, who are clearly outmanned.

The Blazers pick up Lebron James in free agency in the off-season, answering all questions at the 3. Dwight Janes questions management’s commitment. Canzano bites off own hand.

With a luxury tax exceeding the league salary cap, Paul Allen turns a nifty profit off the most successful decade of any NBA franchise, ever. (Blazer B Team “Secondus Unitus” wins EuroCup, Koponnen serves as Veteran Presence.)

Stern commits sepeku following a lackluster Blazers-Pacers final, when his refs fail to deny the Blazers Portland’s sixth championship in a row.

Trailblazers jerseys are worn on Mars-walk — the first manned mission to another planet. Jerseys set all-time records for a charity auction.

International sales of original (must have) Blazers gear balance the US trade deficit. BRoy elected President.