Category: Portland Trail Blazers Blog

Portland Trail Blazers guard Patrick Mills was re-assigned to the Idaho Stampede, Portland’s NBA D-League affiliate, it was announced today.  Mills’ assignment is the 12th to an NBA D-League affiliate this season.

During his first assignment to the Stampede earlier this month, Mills appeared in two games, averaging 30.0 points, shooting 21-of-37 from the field, to go with 7.5 assists in 34.0 minutes.  He scored a team-high 38 points against the Reno Bighorns on Jan. 1.

Originally selected by Portland with the 55th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Mills has appeared in one game for the Trail Blazers this season, recording two assists in five minutes on Jan. 4 at the Los Angeles Clippers.

A two-year contributor at St. Mary’s (Calif.), Mills twice earned First Team All-West Coast Conference.  Named West Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year as a freshman, Mills was also selected to the Naismith Trophy Award Mid-Season Top-30 list during his sophomore season.

Mills averaged a team-high 14.2 points to go with 2.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 steals in 23 minutes for his native Australia at the Beijing Olympics becoming the youngest player in Australian history to compete in the Olympic Games in basketball.

The Portland Trail Blazers have signed forward Shavlik Randolph to a 10-day contract, it was announced today by General Manager Kevin Pritchard.

Randolph, 26, has appeared in two games for the Trail Blazers this season, totaling four points, a rebound and an assist in five minutes before being waived Jan. 6. He was originally signed on Dec. 30.

Portland’s roster now stands at 16 players.

(Due to injuries, the Blazers have an exception from the league that allows them to have more than 15 players.)

Jason Quick of The Oregonian reports (via blog):

Trail Blazers practice on Thursday was halted nearly 60 minutes into the workout when veteran point guard Andre Miller and coach Nate McMillan engaged in a shouting match that lasted for nearly 30 minutes.

Miller shouted throughout the exchange, and McMillan mostly listened, but at times broke in with shouting of his own.

One of the topics discussed was an incident late in Tuesday’s game with Memphis, when Miller told Jerryd Bayless to make his second free throw with 4.3 seconds left and the Blazers trailing by two. The coaching staff and team captain Brandon Roy told Bayless to miss the free throw so the Blazers could attempt to rebound and make a tying basket.

The Portland Trail Blazers have waived forward Shavlik Randolph, it was announced today by General Manager Kevin Pritchard.

Signed by Portland on Dec. 30, Randolph appeared in two games for the Trail Blazers this season, totaling four points, a rebound and an assist in five minutes.

Portland’s roster now stands at 15 players.

The Portland Trail Blazers recalled guard Patty Mills from the NBA Development League’s Idaho Stampede, it was announced today by General Manager Kevin Pritchard.

In two games since being assigned to the Stampede on Dec. 29, Mills posted averages of 30.0 points (21-37 FG, 11-15 3-PT) and 7.5 assists in 34.0 minutes off the bench.

In his first professional game, Mills led all players with 38 points and 12 assists on Jan. 1. The 6-0 guard’s put-back with 1.2 seconds remaining gave the Stampede a one-point win on Jan. 3.

Mills, selected by the Trail Blazers with the 55th overall pick in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft, will join the Trail Blazers for Monday’s game at the L.A. Clippers.

In a pair of roster moves, the Portland Trail Blazers waived forward Anthony Tolliver and assigned guard Patty Mills to the NBA Development League’s Idaho Stampede, it was announced today by General Manager Kevin Pritchard.

Tolliver appeared in two games for the Trail Blazers, grabbing a rebound in four minutes. He was called up from the Stampede on Dec. 17 after the NBA awarded Portland a hardship exemption.

Mills, selected by the Trail Blazers with the 55th overall pick in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft, will join the Stampede on Wednesday. The Australian national fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot during an NBA Summer League practice session July 9. He underwent surgery on July 13 and recently completed a successful rehabilitation.

The Trail Blazers’ roster now stands at 15.

Portland Trail Blazers center Joel Przybilla underwent successful surgery today to repair a ruptured right patella tendon and will be out for the remainder of the 2009-10 season, it was announced by General Manager Kevin Pritchard.

The two-hour surgery was performed by Dr. Don Roberts at Southwest Washington Surgery Center in Vancouver, Wash. Przybilla is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for the Trail Blazers Fall Training Camp.

“Joel has been a pillar of our team and he is now on the road to recovery,” said Pritchard. “We believe very strongly in Joel and look forward to his return next season.

“We are also grateful and appreciative, especially here during the holidays, that we have such talented and caring doctors associated with our team. Dr. Roberts and Dr. Tom Reis have done an impeccable job of caring for our team during these challenging times.”

The injury occurred at the 3:12 mark of the first quarter in Tuesday’s 85-81 win at Dallas.

Przybilla, 30, averaged 4.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.43 blocked shots in 30 games (nine starts) this season.  He ranks among NBA leaders in rebounds and blocked shots per game, and places second on the team in both categories. Przybilla recently put together a stretch of six straight games with 10-plus rebounds from Dec. 11-20.

He ranks sixth all-time in Trail Blazers history with 593 blocked shots.

Joe Freeman of the Oregonian reports (via blog):

Just when you think it can’t get any worse for this injury-depleted Trail Blazers team, it suffers yet another significant setback Tuesday night in Dallas.

In the first quarter of their game against the Dallas Mavericks, Joel Przybilla landed awkwardly and violently on his right leg beneath the basket and had to be helped away from the American Airlines Center court by two teammates.

Shortly after halftime, the team announced that Pryzbilla had suffered a ruptured right patella tendon and patella dislocation. He is out indefinitely.