Blazers....What If? Draft Edition

[Whyachi]

Coin flip a big part of history between Houston and Portland

"The Blazers got the second pick and took Sam Bowie out of Kentucky in a still-much-debated selection."

a debate is back & forth discussion. There is no debate on this topic. If there ever was in ancient times, "Portland needed a Center,, Bowie made sense", this ridiculous counter point must have been offered by the Blazers Front Office minions during the 80's.

Michael Jordan cursed the Blazers. This is not a "still much debated" topic. The decision morphed into a mysterious form of dark magic, an eternal trolling spell.

"The coin flip caused the decision"... how would we know?? What if Portland drafted Bowie over Hakeem & Jordan? That's even more championship talent the Blazers failed to recognize.

Portland is the city that handed Michael Jordan to Chicago. This draft disturbance cannot be broken until Scoot helps Portland win the championship.

 

[OR-84]

@Whyachi, I agree. After reading more about the LaRue Martin over Bob McAdoo draft I am definitely seeing that the Bowie draft was worse...by far. LaRue was just a guy who never should have been drafted that high and was not his fault, as well as his standout game against Walton. Whatever happened in that room between McAdoo's agent and Blazer owner is unknown, but it is what it is and I don't see a fault for LaRue in a sense. Bowie though......???? Yeah, that must have some hidden craziness that I have yet to uncover.

 

[e_blazer]

My favorite “what if” is what if Sabonis had come over to play earlier in his career. I wonder if MJ would still be the GOAT if he’d only won one ring, because the Drexler-era Blazers would have been absolutely insane with Sabas at center.

 

[OR-84]

Ok, now the 80's...at pick #188 Blazers select Rick Boucher (Mom was heard in the background yelling "we don't play know foosball in our house"...Rick was never seen again) rumor is he pushes lawnmowers now. @THE HCP ?

 

[Whyachi]

@Whyachi, I agree. After reading more about the LaRue Martin over Bob McAdoo draft I am definitely seeing that the Bowie draft was worse...by far. LaRue was just a guy who never should have been drafted that high and was not his fault, as well as his standout game against Walton. Whatever happened in that room between McAdoo's agent and Blazer owner is unknown, but it is what it is and I don't see a fault for LaRue in a sense. Bowie though......???? Yeah, that must have some hidden craziness that I have yet to uncover.

agents... don't get me started.
I recently looked up Blazers and the agents for the players. Many Blazers have the same agent.

a funky algorithm began to coagulate... after Portland gets seriously whooped, why do Blazer fans get told the team "plays better then what we watch."

... the agents are running the show, not the GM, owner, or the Coach. Uh oh, those folks have agents too.

Conspiracy !!
I better stop before a Blackhawk helicopter hovers over my house, and drops a basketball on my head.

 

[OR-84]

My favorite “what if” is what if Sabonis had come over to play earlier in his career. I wonder if MJ would still be the GOAT if he’d only won one ring, because the Drexler-era Blazers would have been absolutely insane with Sabas at center.

@e_blazer, oh yeah! That is definitely a good point. He was so dang good.

 

[OR-84]

@Whyachi, talk about conspiracy....in 1980 Houston drafted Terry Stotts #38th (of course we missed...j/k), but he never played. What if it was all a ploy that he was drafted with the intentions to one day fleece the Blazers organization by coaching the Blazers and teasing us fans with mediocrity and what ifs...Shucks...those dang Rockets are sure shameless. Hopefully Scoot surpasses Amen and Cam, cause at this point it doesn't look good for the two teams historically.

 

[OR-84]

I wonder what the case was with Mark Eaton. Did he always just look like a mormon volleyball dad, and scouts just were not into it, or was he really just missed on during both draft years (1979-#107 & 1982-#72). Also, it is interesting to think if he just didn't like his draft in '79 and went back to college only to be drafted at (wait for it....) #72...in '82? that must have been a confidence booster. Kudos to him for putting in the work and having a stellar career though. Just goes to show.

 

[OR-84]

Ok...now 1983 and they did it...they finally (other than Walton, Paxson) made the correct 1st round draft pick. Clyde The Glide. Thank you! Some great years. Turned me into the fanatic fan that I am today. But then you start to think...wait...Houston we have a problem. of course we all know what happened. Shnikeys!, Houston strikes again. #cursed

 

[UncleCliffy'sDaddy]

They really wiffed on Dan Issel and Artis Gilmore....and yes I know so did the other teams. Also, did they really draft a guy named Goo? Lol Go Goo Go!!!

Issel and Gilmore originally signed with the ABA ahead of that draft. Portland (and all the other NBA teams)had no chance until the merger and dispersal draft. Which is how we ended up with Lucas and Moses Malone. And Goo Kennedy had a decent little ABA career as a journeyman with the Spurs. He'd have been a decent fit with the Trailblazers of that era. And Portland was all set to draft McAdoo and even had an agreement in place. He/his agent reneged and used the ABA to leverage a better offer. Portland told him to piss up a rope and drafted Larue.

 

[UncleCliffy'sDaddy]

To think that the Blazers could have started the first few years with Tiny Archibald, Dan Issel, Fred Brown, Artis Gilmore, Bob McAdoo, and George McGinnis...

Boy are you missing the circumstances, nuances, dynamics and everything else that went into how it all played out. There are valid reasons for drafting the way we did. You're playing shoulda, woulda, coulda 50 years after the fact.....

 

[OR-84]

Holy cow...1984 was not just THE miss on Jordan, but who the Kerfupple thought #19 Bernard Thompson was a better choice over #20 Tony Campbell, or #26 Victor Fleming as an option over #27 Ron Anderson, amongst other whiffs #39 Danny Young. At least they got 1 right that year with Kersey.

 

[OR-84]

Boy are you missing the circumstances, nuances, dynamics and everything else that went into how it all played out. There are valid reasons for drafting the way we did. You're playing shoulda, woulda, coulda 50 years after the fact.....

@UncleCliffy'sDaddy, I greatly appreciate your insight and respect you as a poster. For background, I have been on this site since '06, so yes I have read many, upon many, years of posts. Anyways, my reason for posting this thread is that I just thought it was interesting. My intentions are to bring light to the circumstances, nuances, and dynamics that altered the draft as for me, I was not present 'nor alive. I am an avid Blazer fan, have lived in the Multnomah county since I was born here in '84 and remember so many good memories about the Blazers, as well as some crumby heartbreaking ones. I have come to this site since '06 because I have always valued the input from posters such as yourself, for the personal knowledge you have. Sidenote: I grew up playing basketball on gravel with...a headband on...pretending to be Cliff. I idolized him. I used to pretend I was him playing 1:1 vs Jordan. Lol...oh the days. So yeah, again...no shade please. Just love.

 

[OR-84]

For many of these draft choices I completely get it, like @UncleCliffy'sDaddy is saying it can’t just be looked at as a 50 year later could have been scenario, but in some instances I am really interested in what happened or what the thought was in a matchup such as LaRue Martin vs McAdoo which was a big vs big and not a fit position like SG vs PF, etc. Now I know about that one and as I am looking it seems many of the later round draft picks were just players that went to colleges/universities in Oregon and likely chosen for that reason?

 

[UncleCliffy'sDaddy]

For many of these draft choices I completely get it, like @UncleCliffy'sDaddy is saying it can’t just be looked at as a 50 year later could have been scenario, but in some instances I am really interested in what happened or what the thought was in a matchup such as LaRue Martin vs McAdoo which was a big vs big and not a fit position like SG vs PF, etc. Now I know about that one and as I am looking it seems many of the later round draft picks were just players that went to colleges/universities in Oregon and likely chosen for that reason?

Not trying to throw shade. It's just that there ARE nuances and circumstances. We were ALL salty about taking Martin but we were even saltier about McAdoo jerking us around. It hurt our provincial pride. So even though we loved his game and wished he played it in a Portland jersey, we had a huge "f**k that guy" attitude for a few years. And Bowie fit a need. If he had stayed healthy, it would not have looked anywhere near as bad as it did. And Bowie eventually got us Buck. So there is that. And yes, back in the days of the 10 round draft, teams would take flyers on local kids in the later rounds. It was kind of a loyalty thing, and when you start getting that low in the draft, how big of a gamble is it really?

 

[UncleCliffy'sDaddy]

And little known factoid is that Goo Kennedy's real name was Eugene. I remembered without having to "Goo"gle it......(yeah, Dad joke, but WTF, I'm 70).

 

[OR-84]

Not trying to throw shade. It's just that there ARE nuances and circumstances. We were ALL salty about taking Martin but we were even saltier about McAdoo jerking us around. It hurt our provincial pride. So even though we loved his game and wished he played it in a Portland jersey, we had a huge "f**k that guy" attitude for a few years. And Bowie fit a need. If he had stayed healthy, it would not have looked anywhere near as bad as it did. And Bowie eventually got us Buck. So there is that. And yes, back in the days of the 10 round draft, teams would take flyers on local kids in the later rounds. It was kind of a loyalty thing, and when you start getting that low in the draft, how big of a gamble is it really?

I LOVE this. Thank you not even 24 hrs into posting this thread and I have already learned a great deal from you and @Phatguysrule, so I really appreciate you posting (amongst others).

 

[OR-84]

And little known factoid is that Goo Kennedy's real name was Eugene. I remembered without having to "Goo"gle it......(yeah, Dad joke, but WTF, I'm 70).

lol, this is great! Being 40 and sitting here with my twin two year olds (boy and girl) I completely can get down with some dad jokes.

 

[UncleCliffy'sDaddy]

To me it seems like even to start off 1970-79 the Blazers really did not do well in the draft. 1/3 on the #1 picks (Walton) and the ABA draft is debatable with Mo at the #2 instead of Moses. Hmmm...Let's see what the 80's unveil tomorrow. Jordan...Rodman is that you? I'm going to have nightmares. "Mr. Sandman, sing me a song..."

Gotta disagree. Portland (Stu Inman) hit it outta the park with Geoff Petrie. The guy was incredibly good and would have been even better had he played during the 3 point shot era........and had his knees held up longer than 6-7 years....and Sidney Wicks was a no brainer. The guy was a stud.

 

[UncleCliffy'sDaddy]

Another "who remembers this stupid shit after all these years" moment.....Greg Starrick was drafted (Round 10, 1971) because he led the nation in free throw percentage that year and Portland was terrible at free throws the previous season. Probably where Schonz came up with his "You've GOT to make your free throws" shtick........

 

[OR-84]

Gotta disagree. Portland (Stu Inman) hit it outta the park with Geoff Petrie. The guy was incredibly good and would have been even better had he played during the 3 point shot era........and had his knees held up longer than 6-7 years....and Sidney Wicks was a no brainer. The guy was a stud.

I need to watch some (more) film on Petrie and Wicks. I know them as iconic names, but not in the context like you provided.

 

[OR-84]

Another "who remembers this stupid shit after all these years" moment.....Greg Starrick was drafted (Round 10, 1971) because he led the nation in free throw percentage that year and Portland was terrible at free throws the previous season. Probably where Schonz came up with his "You've GOT to make your free throws" shtick........

These are the type of things that really do bring light to the draft choices. That makes total sense and the connection to Schonz is just the cherry on top. Thank you again for taking the time to post. I really appreciate it. I'll take all the "stupid shit" you can muster.

 

[OR-84]

It seems like '83-'85 was a turning point. Drexler, Kersey, Porter...great picks!

 

[OR-84]

My favorite “what if” is what if Sabonis had come over to play earlier in his career. I wonder if MJ would still be the GOAT if he’d only won one ring, because the Drexler-era Blazers would have been absolutely insane with Sabas at center.

I am definitely seeing this now...'83-'86 with Drexler, Kersey, Porter, Sabonis, Petrovic...WOW. That team would have really been good IF Sabas came at that time.

 

[OR-84]

1986, Ouch. With Rodman it could have really been something (since Sabas was always staying overseas). Drexler, Kersey, Porter, Rodman...add Jordan and rim protector Manute Bol....Mark Price.....Drazen...damn...what a team. Would they even need a center? Probably. Free Agent signing?

 

[OR-84]

1986, Ouch. With Rodman it could have really been something (since Sabas was always staying overseas). Drexler, Kersey, Porter, Rodman...add Jordan and rim protector Manute Bol....Mark Price.....Drazen...damn...what a team. Would they even need a center? Probably. Free Agent signing?

Maybe if we had drafted Mark Eaton at #66 in '82.....J/K. I know it is just for fun. But he would have fit that center piece and this could have feasibly happened (of course we know Jordan, Rodman, Bol, Price were not drafted by Portland, but they could have been).
To me this might be the Blazer's best "what if" team:

PG: Porter, Price
SG: Jordan, Drazen
SF: Drexler, Kersey
PF: Rodman
C: Eaton, Bol

 

[OR-84]

1986 and 1987...otherwise known as the Mark Whiff years (Price and Jackson).

 

[OR-84]

1987...Kevin Duckworth. Here is a funny story. I met him once when I was 6-7 years old in the PDX airport (Summer 1992). We were going to Disneyland and it was my first time ever on a trip, let alone the airport. I used to sit outside the airport on Marine Drive with my dad watching the planes fly next to this pulloff spot that had a concession stand or food truck of some sort, anyways, the airport was such a big idea to me. Fast forward and I am 6 or 7 standing in the airport waiting to board and I see Duckworth in some like store section or gift shop and I approach him asking the dumbest question ever (mind you I lived in the sticks and was a small child): "Why did you guys trade Danny Ainge"?.....Yeah...I actually said that, I know WTF...He looked down at me and simply said..."Get the F@#& away from me kid".....and that was that. I walked back to my seat where my folks were and to this day have that memory. Lol....I was such an idiot.

 

[OR-84]

Crickets….anyone?
@SlyPokerDog @THE HCP @julius @Chris Craig @Mediocre Man @SheedSoNasty @jlprk @calvin natt @speeds @Shaboid @SharpeScooterShooter @Denny Crane @blazerfan11 @BlazerBeav @Hoopguru @PDXFonz @riverman @Rastapopoulos @PtldPlatypus @HailBlazers @Wizard Mentor @wizenheimer @GrandpaBlaze @STOMP And everyone else….

 

[julius]

Weve talked about this ad nauseum.