Behind The Morrison And Roy Story

Maxey Featured On

Get more sports at Dish Network Portland

Behind The Morrison And Roy Story

Written by wendell maxey

Tuesday, 09 March 2010 01:12

morrison

Say what you will about Adam Morrison, but the guy is at least honest with himself.

“Sometimes,” Morrison said when I asked if he ever thinks what his career would be like had Portland drafted him in the first round back in 2006 instead of Charlotte.

“Obviously my career hasn’t gone how I would have liked it to, but I’m in the right place now.”

On Monday, the Portland Sentinel online ran a quick story – “McMillan Wanted Morrison Over Roy” - I’ve been sitting on since I originally came across the mention of it in January from an article (with a very fitting title I might add) by Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times back in 2006.

"I liked [Gonzaga's] Adam Morrison in the draft," McMillan said in the article, before detailing exactly why Brandon Roy was (and is) the perfect fit for Portland.

By Monday night, I was talking about the “Morrison Over Roy” story on Blazers Courtside with Mike Barrett and Mike Rice, making a point to credit Kelley with the actual idea after some initial research. But for me, there was more to the story than simply Nate saying he liked Morrison in the draft. I was more interested in the other parties involved and their stance on the story: namely Adam, Brandon and of course Kevin Pritchard.

Hindsight is a beautiful thing.

Because knowing what Morrison did at Gonzaga, there were plenty NBA front offices and head coaches around the league that loved that kid coming out of college. Plenty. No one knew he’d blow out his ACL. No one knew he’d struggle to comeback the following year. No one knew Larry Brown wasn’t that fond of the Morrison’s game.

No one knew he’d barely sniff the floor in Los Angeles.

This story wasn’t about McMillan dismissing Roy, after a less than shining predraft workout.

This was a story about two paths to the NBA: Morrison taking a major detour to basically a four-year dead end, while Roy keeps rolling right along on his road to stardom.

Let’s think about this story in broader terms though. Let’s say Portland did decide to draft Morrison in ‘06. Now we’re talking about the Blazers drafting Martell Webster over Chris Paul and Deron Williams in 2005 – after Portland traded down in the draft, and Greg Oden instead of Kevin Durant in 2007. Those three drafts were the building blocks (Webster, Roy, Oden) of what Portland has become today.

But here’s the question: what would the Blazers be building towards now if those names (Paul or Williams, Morrison, Durant) were changed?

And be honest.

photo: zimbio

Beyond The Beat Mobile Applications Now Available

Set as favorite

Bookmark

Email this

Comments (9) Add Comment

...
written by Blazer_Dawg, March 09, 2010

Not all of those names would be in play if we had drafted CP3 or DWILL that year instead of Martell. We wouldn't have been in the lottery all those years, and sure as hell wouldn't have had the #1 pick. So we would have no shot at Oden or Durant, and whos to say we would have even had a chance at Morrison or Roy?

This is one of your less thought out articles Wendell. Disappointing to say the least.

not so fast....
written by wmaxeyjr, March 09, 2010

well, i did ask for honesty - brutal or otherwise.

but i'm not sure i agree with your take. both new orleans and utah were decent before williams and paul arrived. and while those two helped improve their teams as rookies, portland was still in the moving dirt phase of rebuilding.

also, i'm talking about portland's history of picking one player over another - knowing the names involved in recent years.

we always hear about oden and durant. but what about webster and paul/williams. or even morrison and roy?

it's simply a discussion topic i wanted to throw out there.

wasn't shooting for the pulitzer here dawg.

Lighten up
written by Shooter, March 09, 2010

"Disappointing to say the least."

Give me a break.

thanks
written by wmaxeyjr, March 09, 2010

it's alright shooter....

i'm not losing sleep over it.

thanks for reading and writing.

Always an interesting topic...
written by DC Blazer, March 09, 2010

We Blazer fans routinely bring up our failure to draft CP3/DWILL and Durant, but we fail to consider the flip side of the coin: what if we drafted Morrison and somebody like Tyrus Thomas instead of Roy and LA?

That's an awful lot of moving parts.

To answer your question, Wendell, where would we be if we swapped CP3/DWILL, Morrison, and Durant for Webster, Bayless (wouldn't have him but for the '06 trade that netted Webster), Roy, and Oden? I'm not sure much would change, honestly. Swapping CP3/DWILL and Morrison for Webster, Bayless, and Roy seems like a push to me. CP3 is clearly the best of those players, but Morrison is far worse than Webster and Bayless. I think the big question would be whether or not CP3/DWILL would be able to elevate the level of play of those around them enough to compensate for the loss of Roy's go-to scoring ability down the stretch. I know many folks think a Roy-centric offense is doomed in the playoffs, but honestly, I think you MUST have a guy like him who can manufacture points when it matters to be truly elite, and he's one of the few guys in the league who can do that. Of course, getting to the second part of the swap, Durant would replace everything Roy gives you in terms of go-to scoring, and then some.

I think this what if scenario hinges on Oden. If Oden pans out, we're better off with our current roster. For all their greatness, a combo of CP3 and Durant is inferior to Roy and a dominant big man. If Oden doesn't pan out, we'd clearly be better off in the alternate universe with Durant and company.

Here's an interesting question. In two years, is a team with CP3 or DWILL and Durant appreciably better than a team with Westbrook and Durant? Doesn't this scenario basically make us a more mature version of the Thunder? Great PG and Durant, plus nice wings, and a glaring hole in the middle? Maybe I'm stupid, but I'd rather have our team than OKCs.

No one remembers
written by Makaden, March 09, 2010

Speaking of Portland missing in drafts, no one remembers that Portland passed up on Larry Bird also in the 1978 draft! Also had the first pick that year (Mychal Thompson).

good stuff
written by wmaxeyjr, March 09, 2010

hey dc blazer....thanks for getting in on the discussion and bringing some good points to the table.

that's what i'd hoped for.

either way, i'm certain portland is right where they were meant to be in their plan to rebuild the roster. and that's what makes these "what if" scenarios endless and somewhat entertaining.

and i hear you on the thunder comparison.

but still, this durant fellow is pretty darn good.

bird
written by wmaxeyjr, March 09, 2010

ah....the bird draft botch job. i remember it well.

really, we could do this with every draft....2002 with qytel woods (passed on prince and boozer) quickly come to mind.

Bird?
written by tssbro, March 10, 2010

Boston drafted him a year before he was eligible and was able to sign him before their draft rights expired. Would Bird have signed with the Blazers in 1979 after seeing what kind of talent they had or re-entered the draft for an opportunity to go to a better team/situation? That would have been a huge risk that could have left them with nothing.

Write comment

< Prev		Next >

Featured Writer: Travis Margoni

Coming Soon: Featured writer Travis Margoni brings seven years worth of journalism experience as a writer and editor to Beyond The Beat and will provide at-large coverage on sports across Oregon and at Oregon State University.

Featured Writer: Ben Bradea

timbers_middle

Coming Soon: Featured writer, Ben Bradea - a former sports columnist for the Daily Barometer - goes beyond the beat on the Portland Timbers and Major League Soccer