Portland Trail Blazers Blog – Page 38 – NBA Blog

Mo Williams looking to do big things for Trail Blazers

On the eve of the Trail Blazers’ training camp, Mo Williams issued an unusual and confident pledge to the rest of the NBA:

“My slogan for the year is, I’m going to be a problem,” he said.

And for the first time in a Blazers uniform, he offered a glimpse of what that looks like.

On a night in which the defense continued to look like a work in progress, when the offense sputtered to another sluggish start, when the Blazers lost for the second time this exhibition season — 104-98 to the Phoenix Suns — there was one encouraging development Wednesday night at the Moda Center.

Williams finally played. And, after shaking off a little rust, he looked dynamic, electric and every bit capable of being a difference-maker.

Reported by Joe Freeman of the Oregonian

Several key Blazers are banged up

The Trail Blazers were back at practice Tuesday after making their preseason debut Monday in an 89-81 loss to the Clippers. That meant a little more court time for two of their key players, LaMarcus Aldridge and Mo Williams.

The veterans, who both sat out Monday’s game nursing injuries, went through Tuesday’s workout. Neither was sure if he would play in the team’s second exhibition game, against Phoenix at the Moda Center on Wednesday.

Aldridge continues to come back from a strained left quadriceps he suffered last Wednesday while running a sprint.

“I felt good,” Aldridge said. “We didn’t do a whole lot, but I felt good going up and down, a little sore, but that’s a given.”

Reported by Mike Tokito of the Oregonian

Trail Blazers rookie CJ McCollum suffers broken foot

Portland Trail Blazers rookie CJ McCollum broke his foot during practice Saturday and is out indefinitely

Terry Stotts initially told the media following practice Saturday that McCollum had sprained his foot and left practice early.

However, the Trail Blazers public relations department later announced via twitter around 4:30 this afternoon that McCollum sustained a fracture of the 5th metatarsal bone. The Trail Blazers announce that a date has not been announced for surgery.

Reported by Erik Gundersen of the Columbian

Rookie C.J. McCollum will have to fight for minutes on Blazers

McCollum is figuring out life in the NBA, and in some ways, training camp will be a way for the Blazers to figure out McCollum, whom they acquired with the No. 10 pick of June’s draft. McCollum played well enough in summer league – averaging averaged 21.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists – that it seemed he might have a significant role in the Blazers’ rotation this season.

That might have changed Aug. 8, when the Blazers made a late acquisition, signing free agent point guard Mo Williams, a former All-Star who started for Utah last season.

Blazers coach Terry Stotts said Williams will be a key part of his “core” group, which will include starters Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge and Robin Lopez.

“Core guys aren’t going to change,” Stotts said.

Reported by Mike Tokito of the Oregonian

Trail Blazers exercise options on Damian Lillard, Meyers Leonard and Thomas Robinson

The Portland Trail Blazers have exercised their third-year options on Damian Lillard, Meyers Leonard and Thomas Robinson, General Manager Neil Olshey announced today.

Lillard, the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, averaged 19.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists in his rookie campaign with the Trail Blazers. Only the fourth unanimous Kia NBA Rookie of the Year in league history and fourth Trail Blazer to win the award, Lillard finished last season as one of three rookies in NBA history with 1,500 points and 500 assists.

Leonard, the team’s 11th overall pick in last year’s draft, posted averages of 5.5 points and 3.7 rebounds on 54.5 percent shooting from the floor and 80.9 percent from the charity stripe in his first season with the Trail Blazers.

Robinson, entering his second season in the league, joined the Trail Blazers in a trade with the Houston Rockets on July 10, 2013 in exchange for the NBA rights to Kostas Papanikolaou and Marko Todorovic along with two future second round picks. In his rookie season, Robinson averaged 4.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 15.1 minutes in 70 games with Sacramento (51 games) and Houston (19 games).

Trail Blazers sign forward Richard Howell

The Portland Trail Blazers have signed rookie forward Richard Howell, it was announced today by General Manager Neil Olshey. We assume that this is a non-guaranteed contract that merely brings Howell to Blazers training camp and gives him a chance to prove himself worthy of a regular season contract.

Howell, 22, averaged 12.7 points (51.8% FG, 63.3% FT), 10.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 31.6 minutes his senior 2012-13 season at North Carolina State. A First Team All-ACC selection last season, Howell ranks fifth all-time in school history with 1,055 rebounds.

He appeared in three games for the Denver Nuggets 2013 NBA Summer League entry in Las Vegas, averaging 1.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.30 blocked shots and 10.7 minutes.

With the addition of Howell (6-8, 257), the Trail Blazers roster stands at 19 players.

Trail Blazers set tryouts for Idaho Stampede

The Idaho Stampede will hold exclusive player tryouts in advance of the team’s 2013-14 season, the 16th season in the team’s history.

The organization, under direction from the Portland Trail Blazers, the team’s single NBA affiliate, will host the tryouts in Boise on Sept. 21, 2013 at the Ada County Boys and Girls Club (610 E. 42nd Street, Boise, ID 83714) and in Portland on Sept. 28, 2013 at the Trail Blazers Practice Facility (7325 SW Childs Rd., Portland, OR 97224). Both tryouts will start with registration at 9 a.m. and end no later than 12 p.m.

These exclusive tryouts will offer players the opportunity to show their abilities in front of Stampede coaching and scouting staff, along with Trail Blazers personnel, with the chance of an invite to Stampede training camp.

Reported by the Oregonian

Portland Trail Blazers change radio stations

The Portland Trail Blazers are changing radio stations for the third time in three years.

The Blazers will air all preseason and regular season games on Fox Sports Radio AM 620 during the 2013-14 season, the team announced today.

The Blazers had been on AM 1190 KEX since last August. Both AM 1190 and AM 620 are owned by Clear Channel Media and Entertainment.

“We are excited about the opportunity to broadcast our games on a station the offers an all-sports format,” said Trail Blazers President & CEO Chris McGowan. “This transition also allows us to avoid any preemption throughout the course of the season.”

Reported by Micah Rice of the Columbian

Luke Babbitt agrees to play in Russia

Portland Trail Blazers free agent forward Luke Babbitt has agreed to a one-year deal with the Europe club BC Nizhny Novgorod of Russia, a league source informed CSNNW.com.

The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the fact that no announcement has been made, added that the deal does not contain an NBA-out clause.

Babbitt’s agent Bill Duffy confirmed the deal saying, “My take is Luke needs to play 30 minutes a game and play a more expanded role. We’ve had recent success with both Danny Green (of the San Antonio Spurs) and Patrick Beverley (of the Houston Rockets) getting an opportunity to develop their games in Europe and return to the NBA. The NBA is a league of opportunity. We feel strongly this is the best move for Luke at this time.”

Reported by Chris Haynes of CSNNW

Trail Blazers sign guard Dee Bost

The Portland Trail Blazers signed guard Dee Bost to a contract, it was announced today by General Manager Neil Olshey. We assume this is a nonguaranteed contact that will bring Bost to training camp, where the team will evaluate him further.

Bost (6-2, 176) played four seasons at Mississippi State, where he averaged 15.8 points and 5.6 assists as a senior. Bost finished his career with 633 assists, tops in Mississippi State history and eighth all-time in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

Last season he played for Buducnost Podgorica in Montenegro where he averaged 8.3 points and 1.8 assists in 21.5 minutes per game.

Bost, 23, becomes the 17th player on the Trail Blazers’ current roster.