Dave or Ben will probably be putting something up on the front page shortly (at which time they should delete this fanpost), but in the interim, I thought I'd pass along the preseason schedule.

Oct. 7: Sacramento @ Rose Garden, 7 p.m.

Oct. 8: Golden State @ Rose Garden, 7 p.m.

Oct.10: Atlanta @ Sprint Center (in Kansas City, MO!), 7 p.m.

Oct. 12: Utah @ Rose Garden, 3 p.m.

Oct. 20: @ Sacramento, 7 p.m.

Oct. 22: @ L.A. Clippers, 7 p.m.

Oct. 23: @ Utah, 7 p.m.

 

I wrote a bit about the schedule over at my spot. It looks like we got a bunch of the teams that had a lot of personnel moves in the offseason.

Sorry if this has already been discussed, but I thought it was interesting that at least two Chicago-area media outlets mentioned the Blazers and their supple cap space in 2009 as a destination for Luol Deng. Both the Chicago Times and the Arlington Daily Herald throw out the idea. I discussed it further over at my spot.

 

Is Deng the kind of player you envision KP spending Paul Allen's cap space on? It seems like a bit of a reach to me, especially considering he already turned down a five-year, $57.5 million extension. That's serious cash for your fourth option who's only a so-so defender.

No big surprise, but now all doubt has officially been removed. From the press release.

“I am so excited about joining the Trail Blazers and the NBA,” said Fernandez. “The whole staff did a tremendous job making me feel like a very important team member to them and made me forget about the economic issues because of the rookie scale.

 

“My dream has been to play in the NBA and Portland is giving me this opportunity. I was amazed about everything that Mr. Allen, Kevin Pritchard, Coach McMillan and the rest of the guys did to show me how much they wanted me. Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, I can't wait to play with them. We will do nice things!”

 

Fernandez, 23, spent the past seven seasons playing for DVK Joventut Badalona in the Spanish ACB League, and is a regular member of the Spanish National Team.

 

“We are thrilled to finally have Rudy Fernandez in a Trail Blazers jersey,” said Pritchard. “Rudy is a tremendously talented player who has achieved great things in Spain and Europe. His work ethic and character will fit well with the culture we’ve created here, and we’re very excited to get him on the floor after the Olympics.”

 

I'm most excited about what Rudy brings to the court, but having a guy giving quotes like "We will do nice things!" is icing on the cake.

We had a nice group of guards down at the practice facility today, including Russell Westbrook and Ty Lawson. We don't get to watch the entire workout, but from what I saw, there were a couple of future starting NBA guards in attendance. Here's my write-up if you're interested.

 

To fill the word requirement, I thought I'd let you guys and gals know that after the podcast yesterday, Dave called to tell me he's actually rooting for the Lakers to win the Finals. True story, I swear!

If anyone missed it or is out of the broadcast area, I've got the audio from interviews with Kevin Pritchard and Greg Oden over at my stomping grounds. Both are worth a listen if you've got nothing else to do.

I know it's against Dave's rules to incessantly promote your own material, but please don't think poorly of me for it. I'm doing it for your benefit, I swear!

Paul Allen took some time out of his busy schedule to see what all the fuss is about in Spain. Thought almart might have been there as well.

30 points in 30 minutes ain't too shabby. Getting 15 free throw attempts tends to help the average a bit.

There are also some injury updates in the blog as well.

It's no salve to soothe the loss last night, but this story pretty much vindicates everything Channing Frye thought about Sacramento:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2008/03/sacramento_rats_out_frye.html

I understand having love for your home town, but the truth is the truth.

Has anyone else ever seen a rat in a movie theatre? (insert "Ratatouille" joke here)

I've been in and out of the office this week covering the high school state tournament, but I wanted to take a second to thanks Dave for all the great work he does on this site. It's always top-notch.

I would also like to publicly thank Dave for the great tshirt he sent me this week. I'll be wearing it the next time I get schooled in a pick-up game, which basically means the next time I play.

Thanks Dave, and thanks to all of you users that make this site great.

As you all know by now, Joel Przybilla has decided to re-signed with the Blazers for a reported 5 year, $30 million contract.  It's not very often in the NBA that a contract is actually indicative of a players worth, but luckily for the Red and Black, Przybilla's contract is neither too fat nor too spendthrift.  That's really what a good contract should be, as it sets realistic goals and expectations for both the player and the organization.  When you're overpaid, everyone gripes that you're not doing enough.  When you're underpaid, it creates distraction, jealously, and a perfidy on the part of the player.  Joel's contract is a perfect and increasingly rare situation in which both parties get equal value.  It's what happens when people make decisions for the right reasons.

The Blazer's decided to retain Joel because he's got the combination of skill and attitude needed to create a successful product.  Joel made his decision out of loyalty, duty, and with a mind toward his family.  He could have signed on with a team far more playoff ready than the Blazers, choosing to be that guy in class who bails on his dysfunctional group just before the due date, only to take up with that goody-two-shoes group full of suck-ups and teacher's pets. Sure, you end up with a good grade, but where's the pride? The dignity?  The sense of accomplishment?  

And congratulations to Pritchard and Patterson for actually making some meaningful decisions based on common-sense.  It's about time.

Supposedly Przy is going to make his decision today.  According to his agent, he's leaning toward Detroit, though he's telling that to a San Antonio newspaper, so who knows Duffy is being sincere or just trying to force the Spurs into ponying up more cash or more years.  I guess we'll know soon enough.