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The Trail Blazers are considering signing former Los Angeles Clippers point guard Shaun Livingston after top members of the Blazers front office viewed an hour workout with the 23-year-old point guard in Tucson, Ariz., on Friday.
The workout was viewed by general manager Kevin Pritchard, assistant general manager Tom Penn and coach Nate McMillan.
Post a comment | View comments (58)Raef LaFrentz, a seldom-used forward for the Trail Blazers, will likely miss the majority of this season the team learned Friday after it was determined he will need surgery on his right shoulder.
This will be the 11th NBA season for LaFrentz, who has played sparingly in Portland since being traded from Boston on the night of the 2006 NBA Draft. In two seasons, LaFrentz has played in 63 games, including 39 last season when he averaged 1.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in just more than 7 minutes a game.
LaFrentz, 32, is in the last year of his contract, which will pay him $12.75 million. He will undergo arthroscopic surgery on Sept. 26 in Los Angeles to repair a tear in the labrum of his right shoulder. LaFrentz said he injured the shoulder in a February game at Seattle.
Trail Blazers forward Channing Frye will be out of action until at least November after he had surgery on Monday to remove bone spurs from his left ankle.
The arthroscopic surgery was performed in Southern California, and the team said he is expected to miss 8-to-10 weeks. That would place his return early in November, when the season is one-to-two weeks old.
Frye was in the best shape of his career this summer, and was the most frequent participant at the team's practice facility over the off season. A big man who can shoot, Frye was expected to enter training camp as the backup power forward to LaMarcus Aldridge, a valuable piece to a second unit that expects to spread the floor and play uptempo. Frye spent much of the summer trimming his frame and working on his three-point shooting.
The Blazers open training camp on Sept. 30. The first exhibition game is Oct. 7 at the Rose Garden and the regular season opener is Oct. 28 at the Los Angeles Lakers.
Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan, in a brief interview with the media today at the team's Tualatin practice facility, discussed a host of topics, including Greg Oden's play, Brandon Roy's rehabilitation, Rudy Fernandez' potential and Luke Jackson's training camp invitation.
Click the link below for a transcript:
When we arrived in Starkville, Miss. and met Travis Outlaw, one of the first things I noticed was a large band aid on the back of Outlaw's right arm. There were also scrapes on the top of his forearm.
So naturally, I asked Outlaw what happened.
The first take on the accompanying video is his response.
As we know by now, thanks to that tall drink of water over at Oregonlive, Sean Meagher (did you know he is 6-foot-6?), Rudy Fernandez was in New York for his rookie orientation on Tuesday. But don't expect the Spaniard who excelled in the Olympics to head to Portland any time soon.
General manager Kevin Pritchard on Tuesday said Fernandez is scheduled to return to Spain directly from New York in order to fully unwind from the grind of the Olympics.
Pritchard said the Blazers have not set an exact date when Fernandez will arrive in Portland, but he suspects it will be sometime in the week leading up to training camp. Media day is Sept. 29 and the first practice is Sept. 30. My guess is he arrives anywhere between Sept. 19-22.
"We don't want him reporting the day before (camp), but we also want him to get his rest,'' Pritchard said. "We'd like him to get here soon enough that he can get acclimated.''
They are the youngest team in the NBA, and arguably the most promising collection of talent.
And that was before Greg Oden returns from microfracture surgery, and Rudy Fernandez arrives from Spain, and a relentless and determined rookie named Jerryd Bayless joins a group of budding stars in All-Star Brandon Roy, smooth big man LaMarcus Aldridge and super sixth man Travis Outlaw.
After nearly a decade during which words such as dog fighting, marijuana, technicals and sucker-punches tarnished a once proud franchise, the Trail Blazers have revived their image and their connection with their fan base.
Throughout this season, Oregonian beat writer Jason Quick and photographer Bruce Ely will chronicle the people and the events that are defining the most dramatic turnaround in Trail Blazers history in what will be called "Rip City Revival: An inside look at the Blazers pursuit of a second NBA title."
Brandon Roy: A star's quest for greatness
Greg Oden: Big man's small step
Steve Blake: He has it all ... almost
Travis Outlaw: He wants shots; Nate wants teamwork
Sept. 1: Rain dampens Outlaw's day, not Outlaw
Sept. 2: Part I -Travis wants shots; Nate wants teamwork
Sept. 2: Part II - McMillan on Outlaw: If he learns this, 'There is no way of guarding him'
Sept. 3: Part III - These dogs are lovers, not fighters
Sept. 3: Part IV - The Outlaw outtakes
It is on this day that Travis Outlaw decides to go on a walk.
To Outlaw, the rattling of the June bugs overhead is a peaceful sound, a reminder that he is in Mississippi, and back home in Starkville. His motive for a walk is twofold: In Mississippi, Outlaw notes, it's best to be moving when you are outside, lest the red bugs and fleas have their way with your legs and ankles.
| Outlaw and his dogs |
Blazers coach Nate McMillan said there are three things he wants to see from Blazers forward Travis Outlaw this season:
1. More free throw attempts.
2. More post-ups.
3. Become a defensive stopper
If Outlaw can accomplish the first two, McMillan said the sky is the limit for Outlaw.
Travis Outlaw has never been so confident in his game. But with training camp less than a month away, the Blazers forward enters with some worries about his shot attempts.
Last season, Outlaw averaged 11.8 shots a game, third on the Blazers behind Brandon Roy (15.8) and LaMarcus Aldridge (15.4). Outlaw says he would like to get around 15 shots a game this season, but wonders if that is possible. If he starts at small forward, he knows he will have to defer to Roy, Aldridge and Greg Oden. And if he continues to be on the second unit, he will likely be teamed with Jerryd Bayless, a shoot-first point guard, and Rudy Fernandez, a free-wheeling shooting guard.
So how does Blazers coach Nate McMillan feel about Outlaw's uneasiness?
There were touching tributes from teammates, eye-watering tales from friends and family, a proclamation from the mayor and moving video presentations during a public memorial service for Kevin Duckworth on Saturday.
And as much as anything, the nearly two-hour homage at Memorial Coliseum featured a heavy dose of love, laughter and compassion as more than 1,000 friends, family, fans and current and former Trail Blazers gathered to celebrate the life of the man called "The Gentle Giant."
"He left this world a better place," said former teammate Terry Porter. "He left the Blazers community a better place."
Related: Pictures from the memorial
Back home from the Olympics, where he was an assistant coach for Team USA, Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan on Thursday could finally reveal the two-week struggle he endured in Beijing.
There were sleepless nights. A self-imposed muzzle on his emotions. And the uneasiness of choosing an allegiance.
All because of Rudy Fernandez.
The Trail Blazers, along with the Duckworth family, are holding a memorial service Saturday for Kevin Duckworth, the former Blazers center who died Monday night during a trip to the Oregon coast.
The service will start at 11 a.m. at Memorial Coliseum, the venue where Duckworth, a two-time All-Star, achieved his greatest NBA success as a key component of two Western Conference championship teams. Duckworth died Monday from congestive heart failure at age 44.
The service is open to the public and free parking is available at the Garden Garage.
