Oregonian's All-Time Blazers 31-35: Bonzi Wells?

[alex42083]

They put Bonzi at 35, over Steve Smith and Kenny Carr? yikes.

"As a whole, Portland was the best time of my life," Wells, 33, said from his home in Muncie, Ind. "I owe everything to that organization and the fans there. Tell Portland I want to apologize for the bad, the way things went down as a whole. And that's from my heart."

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/11/trail_blazers_top_40_no_35_bon.html

35. Bonzi Wells
34. Johnny Davis
33. Darnell Valentine
32. Steve Johnson
31. Danny Ainge

 

[hasoos]

That is a tragedy. Bonzi Wells should never have even been on that list.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Bonzi Wells was my favorite player back then.. granted I was only 10 years old, but still.

 

[THE HCP]

Bonzi could play! I don't care what you thought of him as a person, but he could ball!

 

[julius]

Bonzi was immature, easily swayed into doing stupid things, and a jerk. But he was a really good player.

I hope his apology is sincere.

 

[1 Eye Jack]

What surprised me more was how low Danny Ainge and Steve Johnson were. I would have guessed they would be top 20.

 

[Natebishop3]

I had a source on the Blazers who said that Wells was actually bi polar. So that might shed some light on his ups and downs with the team. With that said, he was an extremely talented player. He could have been an All-Star.

 

[Ed O]

What surprised me more was how low Danny Ainge and Steve Johnson were. I would have guessed they would be top 20.

I'm surprised Danny Ainge is above Wells. He played 161 games and only started six. He had 1674 points and a PER of 17.0 and 15.4 in his two years.

Wells played 310 games as a Blazer, starting 190. Scored about 4000 points (didn't add it up, sorry). Three full seasons of PER 17.4 or higher.

I don't understand why, as a player, Ainge would be ranked higher than Wells.

Ed O.

 

[Minstrel]

Wells was a solid player. I don't think his ranking is particularly off. He managed to become quite hated, with his attitude, but he did play well for Portland for a while.

 

[Kaydow]

So uh, where do you put Damon and Sheed on this list?

 

[alex42083]

Damon will undoubtedly be on the list somewhere, probably top 20 if Bonzi is here at 35. Sheed could be top 10. I wonder if JR Rider though will make the list somewhere.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Bonzi was a headcase but when he got hot he was unstoppable. It's a shame those were few and far between. I always liked his skill set - a Power Guard.

 

[Ed O]

Rasheed will be top 10. Damon low 20's, I would guess/hope.

Ed O.

 

[Kaydow]

Damon will undoubtedly be on the list somewhere, probably top 20 if Bonzi is here at 35. Sheed could be top 10. I wonder if JR Rider though will make the list somewhere.

Good call with JR. You have to put him on here. He carried the team in the Utah Series in '99 that put them in the WCF against SA.

 

[Kaydow]

Rasheed will be top 10. Damon low 20's, I would guess/hope.

Ed O.

Damon low 20's Ed? Don't forget the love affair Quick has always had with him. That's the wild card that could put Damon in the top 10 or 15.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Talent wise, Sheed should be in the top-5

 

[Ed O]

Damon low 20's Ed? Don't forget the love affair Quick has always had with him. That's the wild card that could put Damon in the top 10 or 15.

*barf*

Ed O.

 

[Natebishop3]

*barf*

Ed O.

hahaha

 

[jlprk]

Wells would be the best player on our team today, because he'd be the only one who's not skinny. He could blow by people to the hoop instead of settling for jump shots. He would dominate on this team near the hoop like Roy does, but Roy lost 10 pounds and isn't driving in as well this year.

 

[KingSpeed]

That is a tragedy. Bonzi Wells should never have even been on that list.

He has the record for most points in a playoff game and he was a huge player in many good Blazers teams.

 

[KingSpeed]

I had a source on the Blazers who said that Wells was actually bi polar. So that might shed some light on his ups and downs with the team. With that said, he was an extremely talented player. He could have been an All-Star.

I always suspected that. When you take it in that context, you can forgive him a bit. He was a great player. I always liked him.

 

[KingSpeed]

Wells would be the best player on our team today, because he'd be the only one who's not skinny. He could blow by people to the hoop instead of settling for jump shots. He would dominate on this team near the hoop like Roy does, but Roy lost 10 pounds and isn't driving in as well this year.

No doubt. Why isn't Roy driving as much as last year?

 

[Natebishop3]

I always suspected that. When you take it in that context, you can forgive him a bit. He was a great player. I always liked him.

It's something not a lot of people knew about him. He was a nice guy. Very talented. He just couldn't get it together, and ultimately the team decided to move him.

 

[jlprk]

No doubt. Why isn't Roy driving as much as last year?

Aside from the chemistry problems, he can't knock forwards over like tenpins anymore. He used to be a heavy little cannonball. As for Wells, if he'd been a tad better shooter, he would have been twice as effective. That was what got him traded, not yelling once at Cheeks. I mean, a team is like a family. They travel together 24 hours a day. This isn't like a formal boss-employee relationship.

 

[Natebishop3]

Aside from the chemistry problems, he can't knock forwards over like tenpins anymore. He used to be a heavy little cannonball. As for Wells, if he'd been a tad better shooter, he would have been twice as effective. That was what got him traded, not yelling once at Cheeks. I mean, a team is like a family. They travel together 24 hours a day. This isn't like a formal boss-employee relationship.

That used to drive me nuts. Bonzi started jacking threes all the time. When they went in he was great, but a lot of the time they didn't go in...

 

[THE HCP]

No doubt. Why isn't Roy driving as much as last year?

He is, he just got a brand new Benz with that big contract!

 

[Natebishop3]

He is, he just got a brand new Benz with that big contract!

I thought his Charger was a lot cooler than any Benz.

 

[jlprk]

That used to drive me nuts. Bonzi started jacking threes all the time. When they went in he was great, but a lot of the time they didn't go in...

He was more effective after he left Portland because he had stronger coaching. Hubie Brown and Adelman made him play inside more.

 

[Public Defender]

I'm impressed that Quick had the guts to put Bonzi on the list, given how controversial he was. Fact is, he was one of the big keys for the Blazers for a few years. I wonder about JR Rider - since Bonzi was JR's protege when both of them were in Portland. If Bonzi is in the low 30's, does that mean JR makes the high 20's? Rider was good, but he wasn't as impressive as Bonzi, I don't think... other than those two playoff series in '99 (Minnesota and Utah, if memory serves...).