Damian Lillard To Usher In A New Blazer Era
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Tuesday, July 07, 2015
Robby Davis, GolocalPDX Contributor
Photo via Damian Lillard Instagram (image cropped)
This past week has been one of the most hectic times in Trail Blazer history. Portland lost their 2nd leading scorer in franchise history to the San Antonio Spurs on July 4th. By LaMarcus Aldridge signing elsewhere the Blazers have now been forced to (once again) begin rebuilding for the future. As it stands now the majority of Portland’s roster is under 26 years old. The only 2 players who are on the roster that are over 26 are Gerald Henderson, 27, and Chris Kaman, 33.
Although losing Aldridge to the Spurs was heartbreaking to Blazer fans everywhere, can we really blame him?
Aldridge is a Texas native who has family located in the Dallas area. He is also in the perfect situation in terms of his basketball career. It can be argued that the San Antonio Spurs are one of the best franchises in all of sports with Gregg Popovich leading the charge. Under Popovich the Spurs have won 5 championships. Aldridge will also have an excellent supporting cast around him. The legendary Tim Duncan will most likely be playing next to him, Tony Parker will be heading the point guard position and Kawhi Leonard will continue developing into one of the most well-rounded small forwards in the game. Also, there’s a good chance that Manu Ginobili returns for at least one more season. Aldridge’s decision to leave Rip City comes down to wanting to win championships and being closer to his family.
Although we can’t blame him for leaving, it still hurts. What hurts the most is the fact that Aldridge led Portland to believe that he was going to re-sign. Last summer he was offered a max contract by Portland GM, Neil Olshey, but chose to turn it down stating that he wanted to sign with the Blazers this summer for more money. He also suggested that he wanted to be the best Blazer ever. Obviously that didn’t happen. Could it be that he didn’t like the direction that the team was going? Or that he had to share the spotlight with Lillard? The city of Portland may never know.
What we do know is that Lillard is now officially the face of the franchise that will lead a young Blazer team into a new era. With a core of Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Meyers Leonard, Mason Plumlee and Noah Vonleh nobody really knows what this team is capable of…which could potentially make them dangerous this upcoming season.
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Alex Morgan
Alex Morgan, 25, is a forward for the Portland Thorns. She recently signed with the club in January of 2013 after playing for the Western New York Flash and the Seattle Sounders. She rose to prominence because of her success playing for the United States women’s national soccer team. Morgan was the youngest player to represent the U.S. during the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She will once again represent team USA this summer as they prepare to head off to Canada for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Photo credit: Alex Morgan's Facebook page
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Meyers Leonard
Meyers Leonard, 23, was the 11th overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft. Over the past few years he has been diligently working with the Portland Trailblazer’s coaching staff in order to refine his game. The Illinois alumni’s hard work has been paying off considering he’s having the best season of his career.
Photo credit: Meyers Leonard's Facebook page
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Kaylyn Kyle
Kaylyn Kyle, 26, is a Canadian soccer player who currently plays for the Portland Thorns. She is also a member of the Canadian women’s national team. Kyle was part of the 2012 Canadian national team that defeated France in the bronze medal game. She is also an ambassador for, Right To Play, which is an organization dedicated to using soccer as a resource to educate and empower children from disadvantaged communities.
Photo credit: Kaylyn Kyle's Facebook page
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Gaston Fernandez
Gaston Fernandez, 31, is a striker for the Portland Timbers. The club signed the Argentinian striker back in January of 2014. During his MLS debut with the Timbers he scored an equalizer goal that extended the Timbers unbeaten home record to sixteen.
Photo credit: via forums.bigsoccer.com
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Marcus Mariota
Marcus Mariota, 21, is coming off one of the best seasons any Oregon Duck quarterback has ever experienced. He is the first Hawaiian-born athlete to ever win the Heisman trophy. This season he also led the Ducks to a 12-1 regular season record. Duck fans everywhere will be anxiously waiting to see where Mariota goes in this year’s NFL Draft.
Photo credit: via Oregon Football's Facebook page
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Ellie Cribbins
Ellie Cribbins is a second year Blazer Dancer for the Portland Trailblazers. Cribbins is originally from Portland, Oregon but attended Oregon State University. This season proved to be a unique one for Cribbins since her sister also made the Blazer Dancers last August.
Photo credit: via Ellie Cribbin's Facebook page
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Jake Gleeson
Jake Gleeson, 24, is a New Zealand born goalie that is currently playing for the Portland Timbers. He signed with the club in February of 2011. Gleeson has taken pride over the past few years of being a young player who has worked his way up the ranks.
Photo credit: via solofutbol.cl
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Janie Takeda
Janie Takeda, 21, is a senior outfielder for the University of Oregon. The Dallas Charge of the National Pro Fastpitch League recently drafted her 26th overall. Takeda was also selected to play on the United States women’s national team during the 2015 summer season. She is set to graduate from the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication this spring.
Photo credit: Janie Takeda's Facebook page
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Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard, 24, was the NBA’s 2012 Rookie Of The Year. He was the 4th Portland Trailblazer to ever win the award. Since then he’s been named an All-Star twice, as well as an All-NBA Third Team selection. Lillard had one of the most rememberable performances in Trailblazer history after he hit a three-pointer that defeated the Houston Rockets in game 6 of the 2014 NBA Playoffs.
Photo credit: Damian Lillard's Facebook page
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Maggie Rouse
Maggie Rouse, 20, is a junior cheerleader for the University of Oregon. She just completed her third year on the team. When she tried out as a freshman she never expected to make the squad. Yet, here she is two years later. She is currently majoring in Educational Foundations.
Photo credit: Maggie Rouse's Facebook page
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LaMarcus Aldridge
LaMarcus Aldridge, 29, is widely considered to be one of the best power-forwards in the NBA. The Texas native is averaging 23.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game this season for the Portland Trailblazers. He is also a four-time NBA All-Star. On March 10th, 2015 Aldridge became the Trailblazers all-time leading rebounder.
Photo credit: LaMarcus Aldridge's Facebook page
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Kaytianna McMillan
Kaytianna McMillan is a gymnast for the Oregon State Beavers. Over the course of 2014 McMillan battled a series of injuries, yet she was still able to overcome them in order to become the Co-Champion of the 2014 NCAA University Park Regionals. Oregon State will be lucky to have her for the next couple of years.
Photo credit: Oregon State Athletics website
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Devon Allen
Devon Allen, 20, just completed his freshman year as a wide receiver for the Oregon Ducks. Not only is he the starting wide receiver for the Ducks he also runs track for the Oregon Outdoor Track and Field team. He recently earned a Gold Medal in the 110 meter hurdles during the 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Although he is recovering from a torn ACL we hope to see him back on the field during the 2015-2016 season.
Phot credit: University of Oregon Facebook page
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Chase De Leo
Chase De Leo, 19, currently plays center for the Portland Winterhawks. His quickness and overall creative offensive game earned him an invite to Team USA’s selection camp back in December of 2014. Of all 30 players who were invited, he was only one of 2 WHL players.
Photo credit: Chase De Leo's Facebook page
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Darron Thomas
Darron Thomas, 24, is a professional quarterback for the Portland Thunder of the Arena Football League. During his college days he played for the Oregon Ducks. While starting for the Ducks he led to the team to the 2011 BCS National Championship game, as well as the 2012 Rose Bowl. The Texas native recently partook in the NFL Veteran Combine with the hope of upstarting his NFL career.
Photo credit: Portland Thunder Facebook page
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