Early on in the 2009-10 NBA season, there’s a relatively surprising name rising in the MVP talks — Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets. Anthony is in great shape and his play early on has been spectacular. On Thursday, he helped the Nuggets rally past the Portland Trail Blazers to improve their record to 2-0.
Anthony finished the game with 41 points — 19 of which were scored in the fourth quarter. His big finish allowed the Nuggets to outscore the Blazers in the fourth 35-27 to win by a final score of 97-94. Anthony shot 11-of-21 from the field and …read more

LaMarcus Aldridge, the up and coming power forward for the Portland Trail Blazers, has agreed to a five-year extension to stay with the Blazers. The deal is believed to be worth in the neighborhood of $65 million.
While the negotiations between Aldridge and the Blazers weren’t always smooth, both sides have to be happy that a deal was struck. For Portland, they have one of the better young bigmen in the NBA locked in for his prime.
Last season, Aldridge averaged 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and one block per game. He shot 48.4% from the field and 78.1% from the free throw …read more

The Portland Trail Blazers entered the offseason needing more experience and strength on their frontline. On Thursday, the Blazers were able to address that need by signing Juwan Howard to a one-year deal at the veteran minimum.
The 6-foot-9 power forward played Charlotte Bobcats and Denver Nuggets last season. He only played three games with the Nuggets, but while with the Bobcats he averaged 4.4 points. 1.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 11.5 minutes per contest in a total of 39 games.
With the Blazers, Howard likely won’t play many minutes but he gives the team an experienced bigman who can add …read more

Jeff Pendergraph, the Portland Trail Blazers rookie who was selected in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft, will undergo hip surgery on Wednesday. The surgery is to repair an impingement. It won’t be known until after his surgery when he could return to the basketball court.
Despite that bad news for Pendergraph, he received good news on Tuesday when the Blazers signed him to a contract. The surgery will likely be much easier to swallow with the contract in hand.
The 6-foot-9 power forward played his college basketball at Arizona State. As a senior, he averaged 14.5 points per contest.
Pendergraph …read more

Greg Oden is only 21 years old but he seems a lot older — and we’re not just talking about his looks. He’s been in the spotlight for such a long time as a basketball star that it is easy to forget how young he really is. But heading into his second NBA season, Oden is definitely facing a pivotal campaign.
After missing his entire would-be rookie season due to microfracture surgery, Oden was able to make his NBA debut last year. While he showed promise at times, most honest fans of the Portland Trail Blazers would say they were disappointing. …read more

Paul Millsap has been one of the best bigmen off the bench in the NBA over the last few seasons while playing with the Utah Jazz. On Friday, Millsap signed an offersheet with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Since Millsap is a restricted free agent, the Jazz will have a week to match the offer. According to various reports, the contract is worth as much as $36 million over four seasons.
Last season, Millsap averaged 13.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and one block in 30.1 minutes per game. He shot 53.4% from the floor and dished out 1.8 assists per contest.
In 38 games last …read more

Yesterday, Hedo Turkoglu told the Trail Blazers that he was going to sign with Portland. But as the hours went on, Turkoglu apparently had a change of heart. Turkoglu isn’t headed to Portland after all — he’s headed to Toronto to play with the Raptors.
Although the Raptors can pay him a little bit more — reportedly about $53 million instead of $50 million — it sounds like the city of Toronto was the main selling point. Turkoglu and his wife reportedly like Toronto’s international flavor and that was the turning point.
For the Blazers this is obviously bad news. Turkoglu would …read more

The Portland Trail Blazers headed into free agency looking to make a big splash and it sounds like they landed their man — former Orlando Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu. According to numerous reports, Turkoglu has verbally agreed to sign with the Blazers for approximately $50 million over five seasons.
Last year with the Magic, Turkoglu averaged 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists during the regular season. In the postseason, the native of Turkey was instrumental in leading the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals.
With the Blazers, Turkoglu will play small forward next to Brandon Roy at shooting guard, LaMarcus Aldridge …read more

Dikembe Mutombo, the 42-year-old center for the Houston Rockets, was injured during Game 2 of the team’s first round series against the Portland Trail Blazers. Following the contest, Mutombo said that his 18-year career in the NBA had come to an end.
During the first quarter, Mutombo was fighting for positions with Blazers rookie Greg Oden. After falling hard, Mutombo stayed on the ground in obvious pain. Once taken to the locker room, Mutombo said that he shed tears because he realized he had come to the end of the road.
The 7-foot-2 native of the Republic of the Congo, had a …read more

Greg Oden is set to play in his first NBA playoff game this weekend. However, a sinus infection has the Portland Trail Blazers bigman’s ability to play in doubt. Yes, a sinus infection. No, this isn’t a joke.
The injury-prone rookie center missed the entire 2007-08 season due to microfracture surgery. This year, he’s been injured multiple times. In 61 games, he was able to average 8.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.13 blocks in 21.5 minutes per game.
The number one overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft is official listed as probable for Saturday’s playoff opener for the Blazers against the …read more