Let me admit something to you: I cheered for the Lakers to win the Finals. It started during Game 2 of the series, when Boston walked into the Staples Center and slapped the home team around. That was the night Ray Allen made eight three-pointers, Rajon Rondo had a triple trouble, and it became clear to me that hating the Lakers is total bullshit.

Maybe I got too close. I’m spending my summer working in Long Beach, a short freeway drive from where the Lakers play. When I got here I figured that I owed it to my basketball obsession to go see a Finals game live. I may never again live near a team that is in the late stages of a title run. I may never again be blessed with enough disposable income to purchase a ticket. Plus it was Boston and LA, by far the most storied rivalry of the league I love so much. This is how one rationalizes spending half a month’s rent for a seat in the nosebleeds.

I planned to attend the game as a detached appreciator of the game and its history. Just a Blazers fan passing through. I arrived early and was struck by the festivities and mood outside of the arena. It was the finals, so of course there was the cheesy ESPN stuff going on. And of course there was a buzz amongst the fans. It wasn’t just that. I saw a nice selection of appealing permanent diversions that make the Rose Quarter look, well, lame. My associate and I were enjoying an excellent pre-game burger and beer when an elderly couple started up a friendly conversation about the Lakers chances. The woman thought the Celtics would win Game 2. Her husband was going with the Lakers, but thought it was going to be a difficult and narrow victory. These were life-long Lakers fans that had seen their beloved team blow-out the Celtics in Game 1. I would have forgiven a little hubris. Instead I got cautious optimism. They went on to share the most nuanced thoughts on Lamar Odom that I’ve ever heard. I had similar conversations with several fans that day.

As part of my Lakers hater indoctrination I was lead to believe that Lakers fans were mostly superficially interested, arrogant, front-running phonies. Yet I kept coming across people that wanted to talk about the small and critical role of Jordan Farmar. They talked about Andrew Bynum like we talk about Greg Oden. And in spite of all the things their team has going for them, they seemed weary to do any boasting about the Lakers’ chances. How could I be surrounded by Lakers fans that were not noticeably less knowledgeable or enthusiastic than Blazers fans?

My being purged of Laker hatred didn’t begin when I touched down in LA County. Being embedded in Laker land was just the final push. I’m on record being skeptical of the legitimacy of Portland’s Laker hatred. I can’t accept that Portland and the Lakers have an actual rivalry as some Blazers fans loudly believe. My definition of a rivalry has two components. Most importantly, a rivalry needs to be acknowledged by both parties to be actual. The parties in this case are the teams and their respective fan bases. This is a fact: The Lakers and their fans do not care about Portland. To them Portland is just another place that hates the Lakers.

The second part of a rivalry is that both teams are often competing at an elite level. In amateur sports this is less important since geographic closeness fuels so many rivalries. The best pro-rivalries are between teams that are both going for the title. They meet in the playoffs repeatedly. Right now the Lakers are winning consecutive titles and Portland is trying to figure out how to get beyond the first round. Blazers/Lakers has no business sharing a label with Lakers/Boston.

Our Laker hate has to be built on envy. No other explanation makes sense. Not the rivalry one. Not the Lakers fans suck one. Not even the “Lakers are arrogant jerk whiners” one. This team is so arrogant that they bust their collective ass to defeat the competition and win titles? They’re jerks? Every team has jerks and “good guys,” even your beloved Portland Trailblazers. If you hate teams based on your disapproving judgments of their character I assume you hate the Blazers forever for the Jailblazers era. And every NBA team whines constantly. Every single one.

Some of my criticisms of Laker hate are rooted in my own insecurities. If I went along with the concept, which is built on envy, then I admit to being jealous of the Lakers. My jealously is an admission that they are a better team and franchise than the one I devote so much of my time to. The more enthusiastic the envy, the greater the disparity. My pride can’t allow this type of admission.

The envy is understandable. I felt it so strongly while watching Game 2 that dressing it up as something else would be impossible. It started when I saw all the amenities that surround the Staples Center. It continued when I entered the arena, which is bigger and better than the Rose Garden. Their pre-game introductions are better. Their lighting is better. They use a live band to play music during the game, which is better. Their concessions are cheaper. I sat near their championship banners, I couldn’t ignore all those titles. I couldn’t ignore that the names written on their retired jerseys read like a historical account of the greatest players from every era in league history. Then there was the excellent product that is Lakers team itself, better talent playing better basketball. Sure, they show the movie stars during the game and the crowd cheers. But they cheer louder when they show Jerry West watching the game from the owner’s box. When they show Magic Johnson, who stands and gives a gracious wave, the crowd responds with a standing ovation.

The plain truth is we don’t have it like that. I don’t mean to disparage Portland. I’m proud of the Blazers history. I love the current team and look optimistically towards the future. I just can’t ignore seeing a franchise that offers an all-around better game experience and is more historically significant. If running from the envy felt intellectually dishonest before Game 2 it became impossible afterwards.

I let go. I put on the free t-shirt handed to me at the entrance. I cheered for the Lakers. I felt a little down when they lost that game. I watched Game 7 at Pizza Pi, one of my favorite neighborhood places in Long Beach. It’s like a lot of places here: the food is good, the owner hangs out to joke with customers, you recognize people from the bus, and the crowd meets just about any classification of diverse you can come up with. I was happy to be there when the Lakers won their 16th Championship. I was surrounded by Lakers fans screaming for their team and chanting “Deee-Fense” during the game. After the victory the celebration started, complete with plenty of stranger high-fives and dancing. The excitement left the pizza place to join the party now getting underway on the streets outside. When I went to sleep that night I could still hear them out there cheering.

The noise kept me up but didn’t irritate me. The Lakers organization assembled the best team in the League once again. I’m happy for fans that get to see their team reach the pinnacle. I hope to experience that for myself some day. Yes, I still feel some Lakers envy. I'm just done hating them for it.

***

sethjonstn[at]gmail. My Twitter.

My associate and I came across this scene while waiting for Game 2 of the Finals to begin:

That is all.

Adrian Wojaksd;ljfaf;j;asf of Yahoo! Sports!!!!!1! is reporting that the Blazers have hired a headhunting firm to search for Kevin Pritchard's replacement.

Considering this breaking news, Blazersedge has a poll asking what you would do if you were KP. Here is my answer:

1) Play this video

2) Stare into mirror

3) Remember that I'm Kevin Pritchard

4) Play video again, but this time nod more and furrow brow to acknowledge that this song totally sums up what I'm all about

Before this news broke Kevin Pritchard knew that the Vulcans/Larry Miller/Paul Allen were busy been plotting his organizational demise. I guess Ben's question is asking whether having it so blatantly and publicly rubbed in his face (reportedly) is enough to make KP to walk away. My take is that Pritchard is smart enough to understand that this has been going on for a while, and that he has a strategy of his own. This news may or may not change that strategy.

Pritchard could leave now looking like the talented GM that fell victim to meddling ownership and office politics. He could land a better job elsewhere. Meanwhile, the Blazers are making their GM job look less and less desirable. Sure, the owner is super-rich and the team is talented, but would a top GM candidate want to deal with undermining bosses? I wouldn't. If Pritchard has been waiting for the most opportune time to leave, this may be it.

You've been scooped like ice cream!

Photo

Normally I like to pretend that most the JailBlazer guys don't exist. But this is just. Oh my. I'll just quote:

According to the affidavit, the Cadillac Escalade that Boyd was driving was registered to Randolph, and police found marijuana and ammunition stowed inside.

[Snip]

Based on information found in the Escalade, police later raided a northeast side storage facility, where they said Randolph rents four lockers.

According to the affidavit, a police K-9 alerted to controlled substances in two of the four units, and police found more cars with secret compartments inside.

Randolph's best case scenario: He let his drug dealer friends use his stuff too freely. They used it for illegal things without his knowledge. That is the least damaging possibility. The other explanation is that he is a guy that legally made sixteen million dollars last season but decided to deal drugs anyways. For fun, I guess.

Randolph achieve the scheduled end of contract emergence last season. We got the familiar "Zach has changed" talk. I expected Z-Bo to resume his counterproductive ways as soon as a team gave him another deal. However, I figured it would be his usual activities like punching teammates, sucking at everything basketball related except scoring and rebounding, being an awful teammate, and a collection of DUI and small-time possession charges. If these allegations have any truth I have greatly underestimated Z-Bo. Not only is his alleged involvement in the drug business infinitely more stupid than his usual stupid, he didn't even wait for a new contract first.

[Via Deadspin.]

As draft nerds are well aware, NBA Draft Combine measurements have started coming in. Measurements and combine results are a small slice of the overall delicious cherry pie that makes a successful NBA player, so don't often mean much in and of themselves. But going over results is still fun. First of all, you get a solid reminder of how freaky the dimensions of these people are. Second, players can legitimately improve or ruin their draft stock if some unexpected results are found. In that NBA player cherry pie (I should stop writing these things when I'm hungry) this all does represent only a small slice, but it is the most objective slice we have. (Hard numbers are nice for a lot of reasons, one of them being ego checks. Remember when DeMar Derozan claimed he could out leap Vince Carter and came up seven inches short? Ha.)

The jumpings/running/lifting results have yet to hit the interwebs, but we do have heights, wingspans, and body fat percentages. Consensus number one pick John Wall became even more consensus-er now that we know he has better size and length than Derrick Rose. Seriously, a 6'9.25" wingspan? For some perspective on what that means, imagine that classic bully move where the bully extends their arm and holds the other person by the head, while the person getting bullied swings their fists angrily but can only reach far enough to hit air. John Wall is the bully. Jerryd Bayless is the person swinging at air.

In other news, DeMarcus Cousins is fat. Remember how people were concerned about Kevin Love's fatness? Love's body fat percentage was 3.5% lower than Cousins. Is it even more scary that Cousins claims to be in the best shape of his life? Well, Hollinger's NBA predictor thingamajig likes Cousins a lot. Chris Kaman was the only other similarly fat lottery pick and he's managed to keep it together somewhat. What we do know is that Cousins is this draft's most likely player to have a weight clause in his contract someday.

Shifting to guys the Blazers may select with the twenty-second pick, Larry Sanders measured well. He has the same height and wingspan as DeMarcus Cousins, with the opposite weight problem. If the Blazers want an banger-type to come off the bench at PF and contribute immediately they may want someone who doesn't give up fifteen pounds to Martell Webster.

Thats the tricky part of addressing Portland's needs through the draft. There aren't many minutes available for a guy that requires significant development. If all Sanders needs is to bulk up thats one thing. Unfortunately the word "raw" shows up on his DraftExpress bio more often than I'd like. I'm not confident that this team has time for him. Really, Joel Freeland may be the best option. (And if we're talking a backup PG that fit Nate's system, Koponen is closer than you think to being that guy. But I'm biased because Finland stole my heart long ago. Moving on.)

Most of the other guys assumed to be available for Portland are the PF/SF types that will likely be playing more of a small-forward role in the NBA. (Combo-forwards? Do people say that? Can we start?) There weren't any huge measurement surprises from the mid-lower first round members of this group, with the notable exception of Damion Jones' ridiculous 7'0.25" wingspan. The thing about combo-forwards in today's NBA is that there seem to be a lot of them available. The Blazers drafted Dante Cunningham in the second round last year. Unless they find someone they think will be an absolute gem I'm not sure Portland wants or needs more.

All of which is why Portland should just go ahead and do what they really want, another draft n' stash special. Assuming Portland does not move up and nab someone they really want, which could be a stupid assumption, selecting French big man Kevin Seraphin would make sense. Seraphin reportedly has rare athletic ability for his size. He could develop his skills in Europe for a while longer and potentially be a cultural buddy for Nic Batum someday. Or he could just stay in Europe until everyone forgets about him. Whatever.

-Chris Dudley for Governor! So what if he doesn't have anything to say that doesn't come directly from the standard issue GOP playbook. Follow him on twitter here. Heres a bonus article on Dudley the candidate brought to my attention by Sophia. Notice I didn't make any free throw jokes? Let that be a lesson to all of you blogger-types.

- Another day, another Blazers assistant coach reportedly in the running for the head coach job somewhere else.

- Sheed, of Bust a Bucket fame, has drawn my attention to this potential LeBron retention tool for the city of Cleveland.

- The Tender-wolves (Hah.) have never drafted higher than third despite sucking at basketball big time. Our friends over at TWolves Blog have a modest proposal to fix the Draft Lottery. I would also like to draw your attention to this sign that is posted on the front door of the Timberwolves office.

- Knee Jerk NBA, of KNEE JERK NBA fame, uses a bunch of song lyrics to illustrate his perspective on LeBron. Its better than 99% of non-lyric blog entries you've read about King James recently.

- Portland supers recruit Terrence Jones is going to Kentucky after all. I think.

- WILD CARD LINK OF THE DAY: Japan is planning to build a city that floats on water. Kevin Costner told us this would happen.

- If all this wasn't enough, a fresh list of links over at Portland Roundball Society.

Teams are hoping to be as lucky as Portland was in 2007. May their spirits be crushed.

A good way to realize how lame it is to be excited over the draft lottery is to explain it to your lady friend.

ME: I can't go. I have to be home to watch the draft lottery.

LF: What is that?

ME: Where they announce the order of the draft.

LF: Oh. So they pick the players?

ME: No, thats next month. This is where they announce the order that the teams will pick.

LF: So all the teams are waiting to see what order they get to pick in?

ME: Well, the order is mostly set. This is just to see what teams get the earliest picks.

LF: So you need to see when the Blazers will pick?

ME: No, thats already set.

<SILENCE>

ME: I have to be home.

<SILENCE>

Aaaaand scene. I'm still excited. No matter lameness. No matter that Portland isn't in the lottery. I'll be hanging with the lovable losers LIVE over at TWolves Blog. Bring your best joke for when the Timberwolves end up with the number five pick.

Photo: AP

On April 29th Portland's 2009-10 season came to a close. I think its safe to say that since that time we Blazer fans collectively went from frustrated, to sad, to a stunning realization that sports have no actual meaning in the grand-scheme of the universe, to going to that place with the cheap Chinese buffet a couple times, to hopeful for next season. But before gathering up all of our unrealistic expectations and heaping them on to 2010-11 it is worthwhile to frame the upcoming points of interest for summer of 2010. I've ranked them in order of interest (to me) below. For purposes of my own mental well-being I've excluded any and all injury/rehabbing talk.

3: NBA Draft

OK, so this may not be all that interesting from a Blazers perspective this year. It makes the list because I'm something of a Draft Nerd. No, nerds are smart and well informed. I think "dork" is the label I'm searching for, but I haven't heard anybody use that word in a while. Anyways, the Blazers don't seem to be in a very sexy position going into the draft. Can they find an impact player in the late first or second round? Will they just draft another raw Euro that may never suit up? I guess we should get used to this team not being in the lottery every year. But watching the draft with the expectation that Kevin Pritchard is going to make a significant move at some point during the festivities is always fun. Although who knows if KP has that kind of freedom anymore or if he'll even have a job. This will come up later on the list.

2: Trades/Signings

Much like we've gotten used to exciting draft day's during KP's tenure, I now assume there will be some dramatic trades/signings/not-signings over the summer. We probably won't get another Turko-style soap opera this time but interesting moves are possible. Will they decided to shop Rudy for a happier camper (that can play defense)? Will we actually get to see Euros Freeland or Koponen in any capacity? Will we see anything interesting in summer league? What about other stuff I can't think of? Do you think that will happen?

1: The continued employment of Kevin Pritchard, or lack thereof

Yep, whether the GM will be fired or not really will be the most compelling story of the summer. I've said this before, but the fact that these articles continue to exist blow my mind. The outside perspective seems to suggest that the Blazers are trying to rid themselves of the GM that fans love. KP's right hand man has been taken out. Pritchard being fired would be total bullshit. It would taste even worse if they brought in Whitsitt Jr. (pictured above) to replace him. Can we get our main man (Shout out to Ahmad Rashad! Your wife is creepy!) over at Squirrelevant to make some pro-KP shirts?

Photo: AP