Thunder following the Portland model
When Clay Bennett and Co. purchased the Seattle SuperSonics, he said he wanted to pursue the San Antonio model in terms of ownership. And when Bennett hired Spurs whiz-kid Sam Presti to be general manager, Presti also embraced the San Antonio model as a way to run an NBA franchise.
But truth is, the Thunder is following the Portland model.
The Trail Blazers play in the Ford Center tonight and bring a salty team to town: 30-18 record and the No. 4 slot in the Western Conference standings.
Not too long ago, Portland was in the same rebuilding phase as the Thunder is today. In fact, the Blazers are two years ahead of OKC on almost every step of the building process. The similarities are remarkable.
* Both franchises were among the most consistent in the NBA. They weren’t in the elite; both won a championship in the late ’70s and haven’t won again. But Portland had no losing record from 1989 to 2006; the Sonics had no losing record from 1987 to 2003. Every other franchise during those 20 years had at least one losing season.
* In 2003, Portland finished 50-32 and had a bevy of talent, led by Rasheed Wallace, Zach Randolph and Bonzi Wells. In 2005, Seattle finished 52-30 and had ballplayers like Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis and Vladimir Radmonovic.
* The good times didn’t last. Portland fell to 41-41 in 2003-04 amid bad attitudes and bad behavior. The city soured on the franchise it had adored. The Sonics fell to 35-47 in 2005-06 amid arena hassles and threats of moving. The city soured on the franchise it had adored.
* The franchises bottomed out. Portland dropped to 27-55, 21-61 and 32-50 the next three seasons as it purged its roster. The Sonics/Thunder dropped to 31-51, 20-62 and, now, 11-38, as it purged its roster.
* The teams are remade. Portland has only one player left from its 41-41 team 2003-04, Travis Outlaw. It has an enviable young talent base of Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Fernandez and Greg Oden. The Thunder has only three players remaining from its 52-30 team of 2004-05 (Nick Collison, Damien Wilkins and Robert Swift, and only Collison is likely to be with the Thunder past this season). The Boomers, too, have an enviable young talent base of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green.
* The difference, of course, is that Portland has taken that huge step of returning to respectability (41-41 last season) and contention (this season).
The Thunder seems on track to do so. Respectability next season, playoff contention the year after.
But you’ve got to do it. The Trail Blazers talked about it and then did it.
However, all signs point to Oklahoma City following Portland’s lead. It’s a good model to mimic. No wonder they’re called the Trail Blazers.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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No one “soured” on the team, just the carpetbagging douchebags who ruined it then left. Glad I could clear that up for you. Keep shopping at the Goodwill.