GREENandYELLOW
2x...and defending
The issue was with Portland not with Dame, but it goes deeper than that. When the Blazers drafted LA and Roy they both were stud rookies. Roy blossomed into stardom earlier than Aldridge, even though Aldridge was a heck of a player. The fanbase and the Blazers organization adored Roy. They marketed around him and made him the face of the team. There were some issues where Aldridge felt slighted personally by Roy himself. Aldridge's game was blossoming, but he was always second fiddle to Roy.
Then they draft Oden. Roy is at his peak and Aldridge's game is rounding into near all-star levels. The fan base and the Blazers are enamored with getting the #1 pick. Oden was hyped as the final piece to turn Portland into a championship roster. They marketed Oden for local and national publicity. It was now Roy as the franchise player, Oden as the future dominating big man, and Aldridge was relegated to being viewed as the quality PF who gave the team a powerful big 3, and he was considered the 3rd player of the big 3. Now this isn't necessarily how knowledgeable basketball people viewed the team, but it was the way the marketing, newspaper, and fan reaction was presented.
We fast forward and Roy takes an injury retirement, Oden cannot play more than seemingly a few weeks before sustaining season ending injuries and Aldridge is left as the lone high profile player on the team. By this time Aldridge is an all-star caliber player and in discussions for one of the better PF's in the league. He continues to improve his game and has put in enough time that people start realizing that if Aldridge spent his career as a Blazer he will go down statistically as one of the franchises GOAT's.
Olshay gets hired and has a personal opinion that Lillard is the guy who will be the best player in the draft. Lillard happens to be a PG...a position that through all the Roy, Oden, and Aldridge years that Portland and it's fan base has always wanted. Nearly every trade scenario fans were interested in, it involved getting a top tier PG (the dream always seemed to be Chris Paul, a player Portland thought they could lure in FA or via trade. Paul was always at the forefront of Blazer fans minds because Portland drafted Martell Webster. The Blazers had the 3rd pick and management wanted Paul, owner Paul Allen wanted Webster and traded down with Utah to wait for Webster).
Lillard is drafted to complement Aldridge and add a scoring threat to the team. Lillard exceeds expectations and becomes rookie of the year. The team, fans, and marketing companies love him. He becomes the teams most beloved player and viewed as the guy whose potential will draw free agents and take them to the playoffs.
All the while Aldridge did his thing, worked hard, and played at all-star levels. He was the player who was the most consistent and there the whole time. Yet, he was overlooked and only for a brief period was considered the face of the Blazers. Aldridge's disdain for Lillard wasn't because of Lillard himself, but rather what he stood for. He was another player who was given the spotlight that Aldridge necessarily didn't want, but felt he earned.
@ Toronto getting friend zoned
from the city. We're always "in the running", never come away w/ it. Biz as usual for Suns fans.
