History of the Portland Trail Blazers

[1] The Trail Blazers have retired several players jerseys, including Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame members Clyde Drexler and Bill Walton.

Given that in the 1960s new commissioner J. Walter Kennedy expanded the league into the West, on February 6, 1970, the NBA board of governors granted Portland – along with Buffalo and Cleveland – the rights to a franchise in return for a $3.7 million admission.

Although Bowie had missed two full collegiate seasons due to leg injuries, the Blazers took him while Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and John Stockton were all still on the board.

(The selection of Sabonis would become even more controversial in 1988, when the Lithuanian center was allowed to come to Portland to train, and then led the Soviet Union to a gold medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.)

In addition, many veterans were unhappy with Mike Schuler's coaching style[citation needed]; as a result the team limped to a 39–43 record and barely made the playoffs (where it was ousted by the Lakers 3–0 in the first round).

They steamrolled through the Western Conference playoffs en route to a showdown with the Chicago Bulls in the Finals—one that they lost 4–2, and which cemented the reputations of both Jordan and Drexler (placing the latter firmly in the former's shadow).

To replace Duckworth, center Chris Dudley was signed to a one-year contract, a deal that NBA commissioner, David Stern, viewed as an attempt to circumvent the league's salary cap.

[21] In addition to Dunleavy, the 1997–98 campaign saw two other important new faces: forward Brian Grant who was signed as a free agent in the off-season, and guard Damon Stoudamire, who was acquired in a mid-season trade with the Toronto Raptors for Anderson.

[22] In his first NBA seasons with Toronto, the Portland native won Rookie of the Year honors and posted All-Star quality numbers for the Raptors, and reminded many of a young Isiah Thomas.

That off-season, the Blazers made one of the franchise's most notable acquisitions, making a blockbuster (six-for-one) trade for six-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen after his Houston Rockets stint.

Brian Grant signed with the Miami Heat, and was replaced with ex-Seattle forward Shawn Kemp.A particular criticism was that Whitsitt was attempting to win a title by assembling a roster of stars while turning a blind eye to team chemistry and bad sportsmanship.

[28] In the summer of 2003, with attendance declining, issues between players, and an exorbitant payroll, Whitsitt announced that he would leave the team to focus on Paul Allen's other franchise, the Seattle Seahawks.

[40] Steven Patterson and general manager John Nash joined the organization began to rebrand the franchise in hopes of cleaning up the teams image after the several instances of misconduct and aggression from the players.

Dale Davis was traded to the Golden State Warriors for also-disgruntled guard Nick Van Exel, and center Joel Przybilla was signed to a free agent contract.

[43] NBA Commissioner David Stern stated, "My goal on behalf of the league would be to keep the team in Portland, playing in the Rose Garden, with economic prospects that make some financial sense."

for the inspiring team chemistry on and off the court, for the potential for a young, energetic group in the upcoming seasons, and for bringing respect back to the franchise – attributes that fans had been missing for over a decade.

Because of the void at the center position, Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard worked out a deal to acquire Marcus Camby from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw.

LaMarcus Aldridge emerged as the focal point of the team and posted career-high numbers, as well as Western Conference Player of the Week and Month honors.

Oden was released from the roster after playing a total of 82 games in five NBA seasons, being cut along with Chris Johnson in order to make room for the incoming traded players.

After shaking up the roster and limping to the end of the regular season with a 28–38 record and finishing out of playoff contention for the first time in three years, the team entered the offseason on the search for a general manager and new head coach.

[70] However, despite the Blazers remaining among the playoff contenders for most of the season, injuries to starters Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Matthews, as well as a losing streak of 13 games – the longest in the franchise's history – led to the 11th position in the West, with a 33–49 record.

More injuries appeared around the start of the new year, which caused Aldridge, Batum, and Joel Freeland to miss various amounts of time, but none greater than Wesley Matthews' season-ending Achilles tendon tear on March 5, 2015.

In the 2015 NBA draft, the Blazers selected Arizona forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and subsequently traded him to the Brooklyn Nets along with Steve Blake for center Mason Plumlee and the 42nd pick, Pat Connaughton.

According to Chris McGowan, president and CEO of the Trail Blazers, "Together, we landed on subtle changes that provide a nod to our past while allowing us to modernize other aspects of our creative assets.

On September 27, 2023, the Blazers acquired Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, and Toumani Camara as part of a trade that sent Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks and Grayson Allen, Jusuf Nurkić, Nassir Little, and Keon Johnson to the Phoenix Suns.

During the Steve Patterson era, relations between the two institutions became increasingly hostile; several NBA executives told ESPN's Chris Sheridan that the situation was the "most dysfunctional media-team relationship" that they could recall.

[100] Much of the hostility started after an incident in which forward Darius Miles called coach Maurice Cheeks an ethnic slur in 2005, and was suspended for two games, a number many fans considered to be insufficient.

[106] John Canzano responded with outrage on this blog, called the team "paranoid", and referred to Art Sasse, the Blazers' VP of communications, as a "henchman" and "Steve Patterson's personal bootlicker".

"[108] In November 2006, the Oregonian commissioned an outside editor, Craig Lancaster of the San Jose Mercury-News, to investigate the deteriorating relationship between the paper and the team's management,[109] a move the rival Willamette Week called "unusual".

Attendance declined significantly in the 2003–04 season, as the team continued to suffer image problems due to the "Jail Blazer" reputation it had gained, and was no longer competitive on the court.