Derrick Rose: Three years ago I stood before you and told you that my long term goal was to change the culture here in Portland. Two years ago we took this franchise further in the playoffs than it had ever gone before. Last year was a bit of a let down but we did make the playoffs in consecutive years for only the second time in Blazers history. This year, I'm here to tell you my promise to the people of Portland still holds and we are making progress.
Last year was tough but in the end we did well. We struggled to find our groove after the departures of Griffin and Jeff. Luckily, the GM made some moves that probably saved the season and possibly my whole promise to save the Portland Trailblazers. He started by trading Garnett for Emeka. Garnett played well for us and for the eventual champion Spurs but, while still tough and efficient, he just couldn't provide the kind of output our team needed. Because that trade gave us the bird rights to Emeka, we were able to bring him back on a 3 year deal. Again, this is a long term commitment to winning basketball in Portland. We also brought in Jason Terry, who provided the spark off the bench we really needed. I was sad to see Morrison go. He was the only guy who had been here longer than me but ultimately I understand that he just wasn't performing.
The playoffs were a bummer with me and Ron being injured. We know we could have beat the Spurs in the playoffs again and that it could very well have been us holding that trophy but we know we have another legitimate chance this year and we're excited about that.
This offseason we said good bye to Courtney. The GM sat down with me when he made his decision and told me that Courtney just didn't produce enough to justify that kind of money. The plan is to make a play for a bigger free agent next year in addition to bringing back Ron and Steve. We brought in some wily vets. I'm not exactly sure how the lineup will shake out but I've been liking our lineup with Ron at the 2 and Andrei at the 3 so we could see that a lot to start off. I had a great camp, I really feel my potential as a defender and as a passer went up and I have a personal goal of making the All-Star game.
Finally and most importantly, the locker room is starting to gel just a little. That is a big step for us and a sign that things are looking up in Portland.
