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Credit: Jaime Valdez - Imagn Images; The Oregonian
Portland’s acquisition of Ja Morant this week was one of the first big shocks of the NBA offseason, and a notable local commentator believes the deal threatens to return the Trail Blazers to the tragic fortunes of their “Jail Blazers” era two decades ago.
In a piece at the Oregonian and an interview on SiriusXM NBA Radio this week, columnist Bill Oram called the Morant trade an “affront to the fanbase” and stopped just short of suggesting frugal new Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon executed the deal to burn bridges with the local community in advance of a relocation effort.
“I hate everything about it,” Oram said in the radio interview.
“I think it is a terrible trade, I think it is an affront to the fanbase, I think it is an insult to Damian Lillard. I think it is only further driving a wedge between the franchise and the city of Portland as this new owner is deep in negotiations over an arena deal that could potentially spell the end of the Trail Blazers in Portland.
“While I don’t think they made this trade to basically poison the well and sour the fan base’s view of the organization, it certainly wasn’t a deal that was made with any sort of care for this fanbase, for this city.”
In his Oregonian column reacting to the trade, Oram argued that the Morant acquisition could bring Portland back to its infamous “Jail Blazers” era, when the team employed multiple stars who were involved in criminal activity off the court. In a previous story, Oram noted Dundon’s apparent misreading of a recent Netflix documentary recounting the Jail Blazers era, as the owner lamented the fanbase turning on the team rather than on the players’ mistakes.
Oram believes Blazers fans will be brought right back to that troubled period for the franchise when they recall Morant’s gun-toting tenure in Memphis, where the star was also regularly accused of menacing opposing teams and locals alike.
“Nothing will drive a greater wedge between this franchise and its city than a player whom they cannot bring themselves to cheer for,” Oram wrote.
The accusations against Morant are far less serious than the shootings, hard-drug addiction, and sexual assault alleged around Portland players in the early 2000s. While Oram acknowledged Morant’s record wasn’t as serious and that the Blazers could not perpetually avoid troubled players because of one rough patch a generation ago, he wrote that Morant was not worth the risk because he is “the most radioactive player in the league.”
Previously, Oram all but predicted Dundon would relocate the team. The columnist appears to see the beleaguered new owner as going scorched-earth on the franchise to assert his control, potentially to grease the wheels for a move out of town.
“The only option is unrestrained fury,” Oram wrote.
Some of this may seem a stretch, especially after Dundon’s NHL team just won the Stanley Cup. But Oram’s sensational takes are clearly fueled by the franchise’s troubled history and the city’s deep attachment to it, and fans are more likely to align with the local columnist than the new rich guy shaking up their favorite team.
The post Oregonian columnist calls for ‘unrestrained fury’ over Blazers’ trade for Ja Morant appeared first on Awful Announcing.
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