A quick look at some things that have been happening over the last week:
-- The first bit of news is that Portland's stint in Summer League is over, of course. I've been writing a recap of the last few games which should be up soon and have something to do with that, but for now, Sam Tongue has a good takeaway:
This year's Summer League wasn't nearly as anticipated for the Blazers as others have been in recent years. With no new draft picks (and the shadow of names like Wiggins and Parker), this was an opportunity for guys that didn't get much time during the NBA season to show how their games improved -- and how they could potentially help the Blazers' effort to make another playoff run.... In the end, as was maybe expected, it seems like the team left with more questions than answers.
This little incident where an excited C.J. McCollum tried to high five an official, and then just slapped him on the butt instead, had to be one of the better highlights.
-- Next, Thomas Robinson got surgery on his hand today over across the river in Vancouver. The doctors repaired the torn ligament in his right thumb. It should be healed for the season, and one imagines that because it is just his hand, it won't affect his preparations for that and his overall fitness--despite some not insignificant inconveniences.
-- The most sartorial news of today has to be that the Blazers are getting sleeves on the Rip City jerseys. A case can be made that they're the best looking sleeved jersey yet. Reactions from around the league seem positive.
-- A more significant story is that LaMarcus Aldridge withdrew from consideration for the 2014 FIBA World Cup. The USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo wasn't too happy about this. While the team is stacked in the backcourt, Aldridge would definitely have added to the frontcourt. He had this to say in John Schuhmann's article:
“We can only offer an opportunity,” Colangelo said, “and then they can either accept or not. In Aldridge’s case, this has happened a couple of times previously. But the bottom line is he advised us that he’s not available.”
But if Kawhi Leonard, who also withdrew, doesn't want to do the tournament because it would involve pushing his body hard, Aldridge's withdrawal is understandable. Mike Monroe asked Leonard about it and he had the following to say:
“I went through those two seasons going down to June 20,” Leonard said. “That’s tough on your body to keep going. I’m just learning from Tony and Manu (Ginobili), just going into that off-season and playing so hard and then coming back and their bodies not feeling the same and then being tired for the regular season. So I’m just learning from them.” [...] “This was a very difficult decision,” Leonard said. “I want to go out and compete the guys from these other countries but I need the time to heal and just rest my body from the long season.”
We can only imagine Aldridge would have a similar response after his last season.
-- There are other dangers than injuries, though, to be concerned about. Damian Lillard, along with Leonard, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, Brandon Jennings, Terrence Ross and other stars, has been touring the Philippines. They showed up on Filipino TV--answering inverview questions in front of fans as excited as girls in a Beatles concert in 1964--and also did some promotional work. Together with the other players, Lillard was also scheduled to participate in a little skills demonstration and dunk contest, only to find a stern rebuke handed to him by the NBA, as Adrian Wojnarowski reported today. Apparently the Association wasn't too happy about its players being paid for the events--which were subsequently canceled.
-- It is a small blemish on what has been a great summer for Lillard. Casey Holdahl interviewed him last week and he talked about all the improvements he was making as a player. Among them was his endurance:
Physically, I feel great. When I first started back working out, my legs were getting tired quick and I felt I was breathing heavy. Now I’m to the point where I can run. I can just go. I get tired, I breath hard, but I can still play while I’m like that.
The thought of Lillard driving to the basket on those legs, rather than tired ones, at the end of games should absolutely terrify teams. Lillard also had some nice things to say about Portland in the summer:
Man, I love Portland, especially when the weather changes and it goes from being cloudy and rainy and then the sun comes out. Nice days. They got a lot of restaurants where you can eat outside, there’s people everywhere, the downtown area is always popping off. It’s a fun city, it really is. I enjoy it. And also, a lot of people can go home and enjoy that time there. When I go home … I’m from a different type of city. It’s not always “Let’s have fun.” It’s “Watch your back” and “Watch where you go” and “Make sure you don’t go here at this time” and it’s really like that. For somebody like me, I really appreciate a place like Portland, just being able to be out and about. The worst thing that can happen to me is there is somebody might bump me and be like “Oh, that’s Damian Lillard.” I enjoy myself in Portland.
-- And finally, also on the subject of living in Portland this summer, Steve Blake came in and talked yesterday to Mike and Mike about making the city his home again. Blake has lived in Portland for a while, but upon moving to the Lakers, set up shop down in LA too. He has a lot to say about the pains of getting things out of storage, and of taking all his stuff from his other home back up here--apparently, because he bought a lot of similar stuff for his house down south, he now has two of everything.
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