Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews joined John Canzano on 750 AM The Game for an extended discussion of his offseason, his expectations for next season, what free agents look for from prospective teams, and recent statements made by former Blazers center Greg Oden. Audio here. -------------------------------------- Greg Oden said Portland is a tough place to be young, rich and African-American. Do you agree? "I wouldn't say it's uncomfortable, I would say it's tough to be young and rich anywhere, especially when you don't come from it. Greg had a lot of pressure on him since he stepped on the basketball court. He was always the biggest guy on every team, on every court. He went to the Final Four, No. 1 pick, he had a lot of stuff going. He was in the public eye for such a long time. Now you throw money into the equation, fame into the equation. It's not easy. "A lot of people want this life but they really don't at the same time. They don't see -- it's not a pity thing... A lot of people want the money but they don't want what comes with it or they don't understand what comes with it. I'm not saying, 'Oh my God, it's such a terrible life, and what the Hell and this and that,' but Greg was under the spotlight from an early age." ... "In Portland, you are in the public eye. Whether you like it or not. It's a great thing for the most part, everyone loves the Blazers. The diehard Blazers fans are passionate. Sometimes that can come off in a negative way. They want it so bad it's hard for some people to take. It's hard to really, truly understand it if you're not a part of it. But it goes with maturity. Greg is young and he's been in this for awhile. He's been making money for a long time." -------------------------------------- It's been an exceedingly busy offseason week for Blazers talk on local sports radio. -- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter