The Portland Trail Blazers have been defined by multiple superstars and fan favorites over the fifty-year history of the franchise. The list starts with Bill Walton, Clyde Drexler, and Damian Lillard,
then continues down the line to less prominent players whose tenures defined eras and hearts. One and all, they are considered Trail Blazers by the fan base. It’s a hallmark of Portland that, once you alight here, the fanbase never really lets you go.
We’re taking time this week to talk about one certain type of player: the mercenary. The term isn’t meant to be pejorative. Some players get drafted by the franchise, spend their whole careers here, and become associated with the scarlet and black forever. Others aren’t brought in for that purpose. Maybe they belonged to other teams first, or after. Portland didn’t draft them. Portland didn’t keep them. The Blazers just paid them to play for the franchise for a given time, then they moved on.
Yesterday we asked our readers to name the best “mercenary” players to ever grace the court in Portland. We received a fair number of responses with various candidates. Walking down memory lane was fun!
Today we’re going to codify the process as I name my All-Time Trail Blazers mercenary team. This came in response to a Mailbag question from a reader named Yuri. Elaborating on his theme, we’re going to name a 15-man roster.
In order to qualify, the following must be true:
- The Blazers cannot have drafted the player
- Tenure in Portland was less than five years
- Played a significant role for other teams besides Portland…in other words, their only best years weren’t with the Blazers
- Not overwhelmingly associated with the Blazers in the hearts of fans. This is a little more hazy, but honestly, I have a hard time thinking of Brian Grant as a mercenary when he’s stuck with the franchise for decades even after he left. He’s the dividing line for this exercise and, for our purposes, he ended up on the “Blazer at Heart” side rather than “Blazer for Hire”. (So did Buck Williams, by the way.)
Given those criteria, what does the All-Time Roster look like? Try this on for size.
Point Guard: Rod Strickland, Andre Miller, Kenny Anderson
Shooting/Combo Guard: Steve Smith, Danny Ainge, Norman Powell
Small Forward: Kiki Vandeweghe, Scottie Pippen, Carmelo Anthony
Power Forward: Calvin Natt, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Kermit Washington
Center: Steve Johnson, Theo Ratliff, Robin Lopez
Overall, I do not hate my team at all. I’ve got ALL kinds of smarts and passing ability at the smaller positions, brute force and scoring at the larger ones. I don’t necessarily love the defense overall. I’m going to have to mix and match lineups to make it work, probably giving preference to my more defensive-oriented centers. But my three-point shooting is really solid for a team made up of players who almost exclusively came along before the modern era. I am really comfortable going into battle with this lineup.
What do you think? First, how would you change/alter my selections? Second, which lineups do you think would fare best in today’s game? Finally, where would you forecast this team to finish in the standings and/or playoffs if we could suit them up right now with everybody at their peak Blazers goodness?
Share your thoughts and reflections in the comment section below!
