No Roy No Joy? the Portland Trail Blazers Ponder Their Future

It was not so long ago that the Portland Trail Blazers represented the future of the NBA in many peoples' eyes. When the Blazers drafted Greg Oden with their number one pick four years ago, the center was thought to be a final complimentary piece to a roster already loaded with young talent. Brandon Roy was emerging as a perennial All-Star, and LaMarcus Aldridge was a power forward with a smooth outside jumper- a perfect match for the powerful Oden. Plus, there were other promising figures- young and athletic Martell Webster and European imports Rudy Fernandez and Nicholas Batum all showed tremendous potential. The team may have been young, but the future could not have been more promising.

In the last two years, much of that promise has come crashing down. The Greg Oden story has been much repeated- at the end of his fourth season he will have sat out far more games with repeated knee injuries than he has played. For a team that is infamous for passing over Michael Jordan in favor of injury-riddled Sam Bowie, the mention of them not selecting Kevin Durant and going with Oden makes Blazer fans shudder at this point. Of course, most people in the know will tell you that Oden was the right choice at the time, and the decision was made on the premise that the Blazers already had Roy, a player whose style of play and position was very similar to Durant's.

As injuries have become the calling-card of the Blazers, it was only natural, that Roy, nicknamed the "The Natural," would end up amongst the fallen. While Roy suffered a knee injury in the final game of the 2009-10 season, his return in the postseason eight days later was nothing short of heroic. But, to start the 2010-11 season, four very productive years in Portland are in danger of being overshadowed by Roy's failing knees. At only 26 years old, Roy has no meniscus left in either knee, forcing him to play through the pain of bone on bone contact in the crucial joints.

At this point the fans have stopped counting on the return of Oden- before his knee was completely rehabbed, he reinjured it and is out for the entire season. The outlook for Roy is less certain, he sat out short streaks of games in the early season to rest his knees, with a few games of not Roy-like productivity mixed in. Now, Blazer's management, coaching, and training staff have made the decision to sit him out indefinitely, leaving the team and fans wondering what comes next.

There have been some positives to start the 2010-11 season. Batum has continued his stellar play defensively, and while his three-point shooting has dropped off some, he still looks to have a promising future. Wesley Mathews, whom the Blazers signed for $34 million to lure him away from the Utah Jazz now seems worth every penny, while at the time the $9.2 million he received for year one of his five year contract had fans scratching their heads. Plus, Aldridge has finally become the hard-nosed inside presence that fans have long wanted him to be. Couple that with the consistent veteran play of Marcus Camby and Andre Miller, as well as good contributions from Patty Mills as of late, and the fans still have something to cheer about.

The looming question for team management and fans now is whether they should blow the team up with trades and start the rebuilding process, or go with the team they have and see where it takes them. In midst of all the bad injury news, Portland remains competitive and is playing a more up-tempo offense, which never suited half-court players like Roy and Oden. Many fans like what they are seeing from their much beloved Blazers, but most are still wondering, what direction will Portland go next?