A year and a half ago the Blazers signed Andre Miller to fill an obvious need: We were too easy to defend in the playoffs. A one dimensional, uninspired offense was shown up in the playoffs by Rick Adelman and the Houston Rockets. It was obvious: The Brandon Roy show was not going to get it done. We needed to be more resilient and multi-dimensional.

And so i applauded this move. Get a veteran, a pro, and a playmaker. 

But it seems not everyone got the memo. Over a year ago, I was astonished to see the resistance and fumbling with which Nate Mcmillen and Brandon Roy received Andre Miller. 

It was then that i made this post: http://www.blazersedge.com/2009/10/23/1098192/how-nate-and-brandon-both-flailed

It was clear that there were leadership and ego issues that, if not confronted, would persist and create difficulties. Someone needed to sit BRoy down and explain to him that the style of play of the '08-'09 team was fundamentally flawed. And that he needed to adapt his game with the strategic post-season needs of the team in mind.

Well guess what? A full year has passed. And nothing has changed. THE CONVERSATION THAT NEEDED TO HAPPEN WITH BRANDON ROY A FULL YEAR AGO STILL HAS NOT HAPPENED. BRANDON IS STILL BEHAVING LIKE A SPOILED TEENAGER. In terms of chemistry and leadership, we are still in the same place a full season later!

Instead these very issues, the resistance and turf struggles, have persisted, morphed, and grown to a level of intractability that is remarkable. Obviously the injuries have created an embattled environment. But the leadership deficit was going to play out one way or the other. How was this missed?

There is a life lesson here. Pushing off confronting one's self seldom pays dividends. And humans, sadly, will point a finger at everything/one but themselves.

And to all of you BEdgers who have been so dismissive and condescending when I have tried to raise these issues, do you think now its time to take off the jackboot?