Assemble Your Own Blazer Team, Day 8: The Final Piece

Here we are on the final day of the “Build Your Own Blazer Team” project.  In order to understand what’s going on today, you must remember this list:

Bill Walton, Arvydas Sabonis, Greg Oden, Buck Williams, Maurice Lucas, Zach Randolph, Jerome Kersey, Scottie Pippen, Kiki Vandeweghe, Lionel Hollins, Brandon Roy, Geoff Petrie, Fat Lever, Terry Porter, Rod Strickland, Cliff Robinson, Rasheed Wallace, Lamarcus Aldridge, Jim Paxson, Billy Ray Bates, J.R. Rider, Drazen Petrovic

These are the people you CANNOT DRAFT TODAY.  You MAY NOT ADD any of them to your team!

However, for this final day, you may add any other Blazer, current or past, that you wish.  Remember you get the benefit of his Blazer years and all the years that followed, even if they were with another NBA team (but not the years before he was a Blazer).

Everybody got it?  Add any player you wish to your rotation of eight who is NOT on the above list.

What’s that?  Wait a minute!  Something is happening.  Here comes Jermaine O’Neal, making the traditional introductory walk down the Rose Garden steps, waving to the crowd.  He just knows with all of those great years in Indiana he’s going to be everybody’s final pick.  Look at him smiling!  Look at him waving!  Look at him…WHAT?!?  Oh my heavens, he tripped!  He’s falling down multiple flights of stairs!  And look, he crashed right into Clyde Drexler there, hobbling around on his crutches from his previous injury!  O’Neal is clutching his leg, grimacing in pain.  It appears he won’t be draftable.  But what’s this?  When he hit Clyde he knocked Drexler’s knee in just the right way to fix his injury?  Oh my goodness folks, do you know what this means?!?

Clyde Drexler is available.  CLYDE DREXLER IS AVAILABLE!

But wait…if you want him, it’s going to cost you.  The procedure is slightly different, so pay attention.

If you want Clyde you have to rid yourself of your starting shooting guard (Roy, Petrie, or Hollins) plus ONE OTHER STARTER as defined by the rules…meaning one of the other guys you picked in the first five days of the process.  It could be your center, power forward, small forward, or point guard, but one of them has to go, along with your shooting guard.

After you have dumped your starting SG and one other starter you may add Clyde.  Plus instead of picking one other Blazer not on the list above you pick TWO other Blazers not on the list above, to bring your total to eight.  (You started with 7 players at the beginning of the day.  You lost two starters, bringing you down to 5.  You add Clyde and two scrubs, bringing you to 8 total.)

So the procedure is simple…

If You Don’t Want Clyde:  Choose one Blazer other than those listed in gray above to add to your team.  (No Jermaine O'Neal either now.)  Your rotation is now complete.

If You Do Want Clyde:  Divest yourself of your starting shooting guard and one other starter (picked in the first five days) of your choice.  Add Clyde and pick TWO other Blazers other than those listed in gray above.  Your rotation is now complete.

Please note that the only task for the day is completing your rotation.  This is not the day to explain why your entire rotation is the best.  That’s tomorrow.  Today just tell us who you picked to finish your team and why.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)