The Trout has landed

The first media-type who interviews Travis and asks him most of the following questions will get some serious props from yours truly

1. How do you see your future role in Portland?
2. If Batum and Webster are healthy, how many minutes do you expect, per game?
3. How much money are you expecting to earn, next year?
4. Did you hear your name mentioned in any trade rumors this offseason?
5. Are you more concerned about winning a championship or becoming an all-star?
6. Were you concerned about the Blazer's aggressive pursuit of Hedo and Millsap?
7. Are you concerned about having to guard NBA PFs down in the post on a regular basis?

Feel free to add any "addtional" questions for #25

over 2 years ago two4larue 22 comments 3 recs |

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#25

#25
#25
#25

by Dirty Socks on Sep 7, 2009 11:47 PM PDT reply actions 7 recs

I'd like to hear him talk about Dante a little bit.

8. Have you seen Dante Cunningham play? What did you think?
9. Dante’s game has been compared to yours. Do you agree?
10. Does Dante’s acquisition affect your role on the team? If so, how?

Pubert Jones > Hedo

by rockingharder on Sep 8, 2009 12:06 AM PDT reply actions

Questions

1. Travis, you know you have a lot of fans in Portland and around Oregon. Isn’t it nice to know that so many people will always be glad to see you and will cheer you on even if you should eventually play for a team other than the Blazers?
2. Describe the friendly rivalry you have with other Blazers and how that helps you all improve in so many ways.
3. Why do you think that some people expect and approve of CEOs and business owners acting entirely on the basis of what is most profitable, but they expect athletes to subordinate economic considerations for the presumed good of the team?
4. What are some fun activities you’d recommend for people who tend to pay too much attention to the shouting voices of punditry?
5. Why do you think that some people seem to feel that individual achievement and team goals are mutually exclusive?
6. Isn’t it great to be a part of an organization whose management is trying so hard to make the team as strong as possible?
7. How have you improved your game to make it more difficult for anybody to guard you either on the perimeter or near the basket?

"Just kidding"

by CatMan2 on Sep 8, 2009 12:10 AM PDT reply actions 6 recs

awesome.

Backcourt game - 24/7

by pxilpooshr on Sep 8, 2009 12:23 AM PDT up reply actions

so, you're a softball pitcher?

good for you

When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Sep 8, 2009 1:11 PM PDT up reply actions

Sure, in the case of entertainers and just plain folks

To behave otherwise would strike me as impolite. However, in other cases — e.g., those involving government leaders — there are generally more important considerations than politeness.

"Just kidding"

by CatMan2 on Sep 8, 2009 2:01 PM PDT up reply actions

that's me, the impolite "hater"

it’s been 32 years (and counting) since the last Blazer championship, so you-all will just have to forgive me if I expect the Blazers to constantly upgrade their roster to build the best playoff team that they can be

when talking about the Trail Blazers, and what we’ve now got in front of us. But, it’s different. We’re married now. Married to this team, and to this core group of players. We’re in it for the long haul.

http://mikebarrettsblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/time-to-ramp-up-yet.html

Mike Barrett is wrong! You only “get married” to the Blazer players who help the team win games in the post season. Otherwise, you’ll get another 32 years of disappointment and playoff near-misses

When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Sep 8, 2009 5:04 PM PDT up reply actions

I understand your point

It seems we just disagree about what’s important to our enjoyment of the game.

I won’t put words in your mouth, but here are some of the most important things to me:

The sheer entertainment of each game, win or lose. So many amazing plays.
Witnessing the growth and maturation of all our young players. What’s happening here may be unique in the history of the NBA.
Having a mostly home-grown team. I wouldn’t trade Roy for LeBron.
Having a team that seems to consist of good people.
Winning, championships, etc. Important, but not the only thing.

We may also disagree as to how we should treat the players. I tend to view them as ordinary folks with extraordinary abilities, and ordinary folks should, I feel, be accorded a measure of civility. This is not to say that, as fans, we can’t have and express opinions about the perceived limitations and flaws of these players. But, I feel it would be very rude for me to express, face to face, my criticisms of an athlete or any other entertainer. Just my opinion.

"Just kidding"

by CatMan2 on Sep 8, 2009 8:13 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Having a mostly home-grown team. I wouldn’t trade Roy for LeBron.

but I assume you would’ve traded Sam Bowie for Buck Williams? Or Walter Berry for Kevin Duckworth?

And I’d never go up to Outlaw or any athlete and ask them anything, not even for an autograph. It’s the media’s job to do the research and report back to the fans. Some folks dislike Canzano, or Quick, when they ask the tough questions. But rarely have they asked something that I didn’t already want to know, and I think it’s not too much for “entertainers” who are making multi-millions to have to answer some pointed questions, as long as it’s about their job and career decisions.

As far as enjoying the game for the game’s sake I have no trouble doing that. But the ultimate goal is to win it all, and the end of the season will always be disappointing if the team doesn’t wind up on top. And, if during the offseason the GM hasn’t “fixed” the weaknesses that contributed to the early playoff exit, then you can count on me to continue to point that out

When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Sep 8, 2009 9:35 PM PDT up reply actions

It's true, I'm attached to this particular roster

I’ve been a fan of other sports, other teams, and other players, but haven’t really felt this vested in the status quo. I can’t really explain this, but it’s true nevertheless. Look, I didn’t even want to see Sergio traded until I realized it would probably help his career.

I don’t really want to know what Travis thinks about how things might play out this year. I would just like to see him, Martell, Nic, Rudy, and everybody else do their best. And from what I’ve seen of this group, I’m sure they will. Nate will be juggling lineups to win games, and we’ll see where that leads. In the end, I have confidence that KP will try to make reasonable adjustments if they are called for.

I guess we can at least agree that the season can’t start soon enough, and we’ll all be happy if/when the Blazers start kickin’ butt.

"Just kidding"

by CatMan2 on Sep 8, 2009 10:04 PM PDT up reply actions

I love you.

"Aneurysm".

When Outlaw wins a game on a last-second shot, it’s called an "annthefaneurysm". QualityPie

by annthefan on Sep 8, 2009 11:36 PM PDT up reply actions

Too bad it often works just the opposite

GWB spent 8 years getting grapefruits lobbed up to him, and LeGarrette Blount gets wall to wall coverage for one punch.

by raoulduke on Sep 9, 2009 11:29 AM PDT up reply actions

I am pretty excited

to see what travis has accomplished this off season. i know he caught quite a bit a crap for that video he posted, but i bet he improved his game a bit this off season. From what i saw it looked he worked on driving it in to the lane a bit.

by jpaulson on Sep 8, 2009 1:02 AM PDT reply actions

Actually, somebody should tweet him these questions

As he appears to reply to people readily. Course, he has to be following you… Get Ben to do it?

You can measure skill and talent with your eyes, but productivity is shown through statistics.

by austinpwnz on Sep 8, 2009 2:59 AM PDT reply actions

Okay, I like my own idea so much I emailed Ben about it

So sue me.

You can measure skill and talent with your eyes, but productivity is shown through statistics.

by austinpwnz on Sep 8, 2009 3:01 AM PDT up reply actions

!

I’m not a huge Outlaw supporter but regardless it makes me really excited to have him back here so early. Who knows if he is staying for the duration until camp, but at the very least he is here and able to get some workouts in with some other members of the team.

And God knows at this point of the offseason with absolutely nothing going on Blazer related, morsels like this can tide me over for a couple hours.

by resurrect_ha28 on Sep 8, 2009 3:34 AM PDT reply actions