Here's a few of my favorite cards from the past few months. I've wrote posts on most of these, but it's always fun to show them off. After all, part of the fun of card collecting is showing your cards off. What are some of your favorite trading card acquisitions of the past few months?
'08 Bowman Chrome '10 UD Ultimate Laettner Auto '97 Topps Finest Gold Ref
Montero Blue Ref RC
'03 Kobe/Williams UD Ultimate Dual Jersey
'91 Kenny Anderson Star Pics Auto '08 Brett Gardner RC Auto '03 Jay Williams UD Ultimate Auto RC
'00 UD Paul O'neill Buy Back Auto
'09 UD Exquisite Cunningham Auto '80 Topps Henderson RC '08 Hawaii Trade Conference Miller/Evans Auto
'02 Topps Bo Jackson Memorable Materials '97 UD Exquisite Legendary Lynch Auto
'00 UD Bruce Smith Legendary Jsy '95 Topps Finest Hardaway Refractor '97 Jeter Flair Hot Gloves
'08 UD Trilogy 1-2 Combo Vanek/Miller Auto
Bernie Williams, Paul O'neill & Andy Pettitte EX Essential Credentials
'97 Metal Universe Precious Gems Bruce Smith
'10 Topps 206 Cervelle Auto '10 UD The Cup Signature Patches Vanek Auto
'92 Classic Four-Sport Quad Auto (I've had this for a bit, but it one of my favorites)
'07 UD Ultimate Legends Jim kelly Auto '96 Anfernee Hardaway UD Tribute Auto
'97 Jordan UD SPx Holoview Heroes '91 Larry Johnson Courtside Auto '93 Classics Exclusive Manon Rheaume Auto
'09 UD Thurman Thomas UD SPx Shadow Box '08 UD Lynch Exquisite Endorsements Auto
'97 UD Jordan Commemorative Collection '99 Thomas SkyBox Rubies '93 TSC Beam Team O'neal RC
'09 UD Exquisite Thurman Thomas Auto '97 Ultra Court Masters (I'm putting the set together)
'10 Thurman Thomas UD SPx Shadow Box '07 Chris Mullin UD Ultimate Virtuoso
'09 Nathan Gerbe Upper Deck Ultimate Rookies Signatures Auto
My Buffalo Sabres are four points back of the Carolina Hurricanes for the 8th and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. The Sabres do have three games in hand, but they could certainly use a big win against the Capitals today.
The '09 Upper Deck Ultimate Rookies Signature card is of Sabres forward Nathan Gerbe. Gerbe is a young and talented forward. He's not the biggest guy at only 5'5'', but he makes up for that lack of size with exciting speed and hustle. The Ultimate RC auto is a nice addition to my hockey collection.
Enjoy the smorgasbord of sports today with the Sabres game, Heritage Classic outdoor game, Daytona 500 and 60th NBA All-Star Game. Happy collecting and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".
1985 Star Co. Slam Dunk Supers Group Photo/Checklist
Tonight is one of my favorite nights in sports. The NBA's Dunk, 3-Pont and Skills contests are tonight on TNT. I'm really excited as it should be a fun night featuring some the NBA's best. Since this is All-Star Weekend, I thought I would highlight one of my favorite All-Star themed cards from way back.
This 1985 Star Co. Slam Dunk Supers Group Photo/Checklist card is a Star Co. card from Michael Jordan's rookie year. It also includes some of the best high flyers of the 80's including Clyde Drexler, Julius Erving and Dominique Wilkins. Oh, and the card is also a giant 5 x 7 inch goliath. Total Awesomeness! Sure, the '85 Star Co. Jordan XRC would be nice, but who has $2,500 lying around to spend on a trading card? I certainly don't, so this Group Photo card from Jordan's rookie year is the next best thing.
The Star Co. cards are some of my personal favorites, just not my wallet's favorites. They feature bold colors and some pretty decent photography. The Slam Dunk Supers set has a total of nine single player cards of the participants from the '85 NBA Slam Dunk Contest plus this group photo for a total of ten cards. The set has a book value of $200. Much of that value is tied up in the Jordan single, but the group photo card has a respectable $40 book value. I've seen these group photo cards all over the price spectrum on the secondary markets like eBay, but here's a crazy Buy Now eBay auction of a complete set in it's original packaging (click here).
Hope you enjoyed this All-Star Weekend themed Jordan Collection post. Have fun watching all the festivities and of course… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".
The NBA All-Star Weekend is almost upon us and I'm really excited. because of that excitement, I thought it only fitting to put up as many All-Star themed posts as possible. Some of these will be reposts from the past few months, but I'll mix in a number of new posts, videos and polls. Actually, I wrote a bunch of new posts last weekend that I have scheduled to be published periodically throughout the rest of this week. So stay tuned for all those posts and get ready for a fun weekend of basketball. With Blake Griffin in the Dunk Contest, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen squaring off in the 3-Point Contest and the game itself, it should be great!!!
One of the more popular basketball inserts of the early 90's was the '93 Fleer All-Stars set. This was a 24 card set that featured the Western and Eastern All-Stars from the '92 NBA All-Star Game. Hence, no ShaquilleO'neal rookie all-star card unfortunately even though this is a set from his rookie year. However, the set is littered with tons of 90's stars and superstars like Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Scottie Pippen and many more. The set featured a horizontal design with images of the players in their All-Star uniforms. There's a blue background that looks great, but is unfortunately susceptible to chipping. This is the biggest problem collectors need to worry about when attempting to put this set together and is very noticeable as you'll see the tail-tail white edges or chunks that indicate edge wear and chipping. Definitely look closely at any images if you are buying these cards on-line through the secondary markets or trading.
The set is not terribly difficult to put together. It only consists of 24 cards and they were inserted into series 1 pack at a modest rate of 1:9. It has a solid book value of $100, but you should be able to put the entire set together for well under that if you can save on shipping costs. Most of the cards sell as singles for around $2.00 to $5.00. The Jordan is the tough one, but can be had for right around $10.00-$40.00. Here's a BGS Graded 9 Jordan currently for sale on eBay as a Buy Now: (click here) and an ungraded Live eBayauction: (click here). Also, here's a complete set in a Buy NoweBay auction with a $60.00 reserve: (click here). I took the easy way out and bought the entire set all at once from a seller on eBay. I haggled the price down to $30.00 plus $5.00 shipping for the entire set. No question, good deals are out there if you are willing to be a patient collector.
Although this '93 Fleer All-Stars set is not my favorite insert set from the 90's, it's high on the list. Many of my favorite hoops stars are in this set and I love the overall design. Hope you enjoyed this All-Star themed post. Stay tuned for more NBA All-Star posts and remember to… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".
2007 Upper Deck Ultimate Virtuoso Chris Mullin Auto/Jersey #'d 8/25
There are certain cards that collectors get excited about ever since the first time they lay their eyes on them. For me, this '07 UD Ultimate Virtuoso Chris Mullin auto/jersey card is one of those. It recently came in, and I'm really excited to add it to my collection. Mullin is one of my favorite players to collect (along with Anfernee Hardaway, Tyler Ennis, Bo Jackson, Warren Spahn, Danilo Gallinari, Billy Martin and 90's insert sets), and this is easily one of the best looking Mullin cards I've ever seen. It's on my Top 50 Wish List and it certainly feels good to cross it off.
Albert Pujols will report to Cardinals spring training tomorrow regardless of whether he has a contract extnsion or not. However, if he and the Cardinals do not agree on an extension by the time he reports, Pujols says he will enter next offseason as a free agent. There's no questioning Pujols ability on the field. He's worth being paid as the best player in baseball, but for how long? It's being reported that Pujols wants somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million a year for 10 years.
At 31 years of age, that's a long contract. It would be fine if this were 2001, but not 2011. Players just don't last like they did ten years ago. Maybe it's the conditioning, the drinking water at those new ballparks or maybe even nutrition. No wait, it's the lack of steroids. No steroids means no 10 year deal for Pujols. At least from this wannabe GM. What do you think. Put your GM hat on and decide whether you would or would not sign Albert Pujols for nearly $300 million over 10 years.
2006 Upper Deck SP Authentic Sign of the Times Thomas Vanek/Chris Drury
There's nothing like a nice on-card auto for the sports card collector. Except of course, two on-card auto's on one card. Needless to say, three or four on-card auto's on a single card would be even nicer than a dual auto'd card, but I don't have one. So we'll go with the dual auto'd card. This Vanek/Drury Upper Deck Sign of the Times card was a nice little pickup I had from the Bay recently and proves to be a nice example of a dual auto'd card.
Chris Drury is no longer with the Buffalo Sabres, but he was a big part of their success just a few seasons ago. His signature is anything but impressive, but it's nice to have non the less. He's currently with the New York Rangers. Thomas Vanek is leading the Sabres with 48 total points and is second on the team with 22 goals. Those certainly aren't Hall of Fame numbers, but they're very respectable for this point in the season. Plus, he's got a pretty snazzy signature. Click here to see a couple more Thomas Vanek auto'd cards.
So I'm a big fan of dual auto'd cards. Do you prefer single auto'd cards or a multi auto'd cards? I can see how this would be a no brainer for most, but it's also nice to have a card that focuses on one great player and their signature. Happy collecting and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".
Here is my most recent eBay conquest and addition to my four sport Upper Deck SPx insert collection. As I'll outline below, I am currently trying to put together four SPx insert sets from the late 90's that feature similar diecut and hologram designs. This Barry Sanders is the second football card to the collection thus far and is pretty sweet if I do say so myself. Here's a little more background on these Upper Deck SPx inserts.
As many of you know, I currently have what seems like a thousand collections going. I can't help it. There're just so many great cards, magazines, kicks and posters out there to collect. One of the first items that got me back into the hobby several years back was the rediscovering of late 90's SPx inserts. Mainly, the '98 SPx Duo View hockey cards, '97 and '98 SPx Pro Motion basketball cards, the '97 SPx Cornerstones baseball cards and the '97 SPx Pro Motion football cards. With the exception of the '98 Pro Motion cards, these sets are all very similar featuring cool die cut designs and crystal clear holograms. Because of those design attributes, I've always liked them.
So far, I have a few cards in four out of the five SPx sets listed above. The first set I started building was the '97 SPx Pro Motion basketball set. In my humble opinion, it's highlighted by one of the best looking Michael Jordan cards in the hobby (click here). Ironically, that's the only card I need to complete the five card set. Even without the Jordan, I'm pretty excited to be 80% done with the set. Unfortunately, I'm not as far with the other four sets. I have the '97 Jeter/A-Rod Cornerstones card pictured above, the '97 Karim Abdul-Jabbar Pro Motion card pictured below and the Barry Sanders card pictured at the beginning of the post.
If anyone has any SPx insert cards from the five sets I'm collecting, let me know. I'd love to get these collections jump started with a few trades. You can look at my want lists and trade album by clicking here. There are a few jersey and auto'd football, baseball and basketball cards in there now. I'm always open to trades with fellow bloggers as well as anyone who is a member of Collectors Card World and Sports Card Forum. Thanks for reading and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".
Ray Allen knocked down his record setting 2,561st 3-point shot tonight. Breaking the previous mark held by Reggie Miller. It's quite the accomplishment. Not only has Allen made the most threes in NBA history, but he's also shot a very respectable 39.8% from beyond the arc for his career. From his time at the University of Connecticut and the Big East, to his Milwaukee Bucks, Sonics and current Celtics days, Allen has filled it up. Something that has been overlooked during Allen's career is his defense. He often is charged with taking a team's best offensive player on defense.
This '99 SkyBox Autographics card has been in my collection for a year or so and I'm glad I bought it when I did. I have a feeling his cards are going to go up this week, and if the Celtics make it to the NBA Finals this year, forget about it.
Aside from being an all-time great shooter, Allen was played Jesus Shuttlesworth in the film, He Got Game. That makes Allen one of my favorite hoopsters of the last decade.
This week is Rivalry Week in college basketball. With a full slate of NBA and NHL games tonight, that means some serious remote decisions will need to be made. I'll most likely flip between a number of games, but here are a few of the games I'll be watching: UNC vs. Duke, 'Cuse vs. G'town and Knicks vs. Blake Griffin. With all these basketball choices, I'm lucky there's no Buffalo Sabres game tonight. Otherwise, I'd have to setup a second TV.
Regardless of sport, what's your favorite collegiate athletics rivalry? I love all sports and enjoy many rivalries, but my favorite has to be UNC vs. Duke. There have been so many thrilling battles that have featured some of the best players of the last 5o years. Here's a little UNC/Duke rivalry video to get you pumped up for tonights matchup. Enjoy all the great games tonight and… "Every Bounce of the Ball".
What's better than a tall Michael Jordan card? A die cut tall Jordan card of course. This die cut Jordan card is from the '96 NBA Jam Session product put out by the former Fleer/SkyBox trading card company. The die cut cards were inserted into packs at a rate of 1:1. So this isn't the rarest Jordan die cut ever, but purchasing a box of Jam Session doesn't necessarily guarantee the buyer one of these Jordan die cuts.
There are currently no Jam Session Jordan die cuts on eBay, and there was only one sold on eBay over the last two weeks (click here). If you clicked on the link, you'll notice the very modest $2.29 completed auction price. That's pretty inexpensive for a fun Jordan card like this one.
The Jam Session cards were a nice novelty during the mid 90's. They were very popular when they first were released, but fizzled quickly. I'm a huge fan of the Show Stoppers insert set from the '96 Jam Session product. However, this Jordan card is cool as well. I obviously like the jagged die cut pattern, but I also really appreciate the green outline used to highlight the uneven edges. Also, how can you go wrong with Jordan? You can't.
This is only the fourth post in TheJordan Collectionseries. I'll try to post these more frequently since Bloggers' stat feature indicates that many collectors are reading these posts. So stay tuned for more Jordan items from my collection and make sure to… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".
This is the second Thurman Thomas gem this week that I've added to my collection (click here). It may bring up some bad Super Bowl memories for this Bills fan, mainly four bad memories, but it also brings up some great memories of "The Thurmanator" running wild and catching passes out of the backfield. The Bills run of four straight Super Bowl appearances in the early 90's was impressive, and yet heart breaking at the same time. Good thing free agency came to the NFL in 1993. Otherwise, the Bills would still be looking to get their first Super Bowl win in their 21st straight appearance tonight.
As for these SPx Shadow Box cards, they're really cool. This is the second year Upper Deck has released versions of these inserts. They are case hits inserted into the football and hockey products. I hope they release versions in the basketball product. Each card is very thick and has a raised 3D image of the featured player in the middle of the card.
This is the second Thurman Thomas Shadow Box card I've been able to add to my collection. The first features Thomas in his Buffalo Bills uniform (click here). This was obviously when Upper Deck had their NFL license. Both are really fun cards. I hope to add a few of the hockey shadow box cards to my collection too. Upper Deck really did a nice job with these. Enjoy the big game today and… "Every Bounce of the Ball".
Here's a video post of all 17 finalists up for enshrinement into the Football Hall of Fame. The official announcement as to who will be enshrined will be made today at 7:00 PM ET on the NFL Network. Out of these 17 finalists, who will be called for enshrinement into Canton?
There are a ton of new products scheduled to be released over the next few months in all four of the North American major sports. It seems that every company is gearing up for a huge 2011, and that means good things for collectors. Here are a few of the products I'm interested in for the early 2011 hobby season:
- 2011 IN THE GAME HEROES & PROSPECTS BASE., Approx. Release Date 2/24/11:
I'm not someone who collects a ton of baseball prospect cards other than the NY Yankees. Call me a fair weather baseball collector, but I have to draw the line somewhere. The line mine as well be after all four sports, thousands of players and hundreds of sets I collect. Although I only collect Yankee prospects, In The Games' (ITG) 2011 Hereos & Prospects Series 1 Baseball has me intrigued. ITG puts out some very decent hockey products that feature killer relics. Wow, that sentence is a bit scary. Hope ITG doesn't put out any killer relics of me after this preview. The 5 card boxes will feature 5 relic or auto'd hits for $82.00 a box. Not too shabby for the jersey or auto hunter. There are also some relic and cut signature cards of baseball legends like Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Hank Aaron. This is a very interesting product for the baseball collector.
- 2010 Upper Deck SP Authentic Football,Approx. Release Date 2/22/11:
UD's Authentic Football is a nice looking collegiate product. All the names are there from rookies to legends. For a nostalgia guy like me, UD SP Football offers collectors the chance to look back on the good times of their alma mater. It's not the cheapest product at $96.95 per box, but you do get 3 auto's in each of those boxes. The big question is, will these be on-card or sticker auto's. Should be a very nice product that I'll definitely keep an I out for singles on the Bay.
- 2011 UPPER DECK SP AUTHENTIC BASKETBALL, Approx. Release Date 2/25/11: Although Upper Deck lost it's MLB, NBA and NFL licenses, it's still turning out product after product. I, like many collectors, was disappointed that UD wasn't going to be able to produce cards featuring my favorite professional teams. Fortunately for collectors, UD has been able to turnout a few nice products despite the setbacks. That sentiment is true of 2011 UD SP Authentic Basketball. The big draw to UD basketball products is Jordan and LeBron, and UD has certainly exploited that advantage. Sp Authentic will follow the UD master plan by offering a Jordan or LeBron auto and an additional "case hit" from players like Jordan, LeBron, Larry Bird, Dr. J, Derrick Rose, Bill Russell, DeMarcus Cousins and Magic Johnson in every 12 box master case. That's two "case hits" in every master case. The master cases will be broken up into two 6 box inner cases that will each contain a "case hit". That's a pretty cool idea, if you can afford the $590.00 inner case price tag or the $1,150 master case price tag.
Each SP Authentic single box will contain 24 packs with 5 cards per pack and either 2 Letter Autographed cards or 2 auto'd cards and an additional Michael Jordan Supreme Court Floor Card. The Supreme Court Jordan cards feature an oversized piece of UNC basketball court piece that Jordan himself played on. There are also a number of interesting inserts like Die-Cut F/X Hologram cards. This is a product with tons of potential.
- 2011 TOPPS SERIES 2 BASEBALL, Approx. Release Date 6/08/11: Topps seemingly puts out a hundred baseball products a year, so It's tough to narrow it down to one or two products. However, Series 2 looks like a fun product at a price point every collector can afford. At $59.95 a hobby box, you get tons of inserts, parallels, 1 auto and 2 relic cards. The early media releases I've seen of this Series 2 Baseball look nice.
It's still a few months until spring training and the release of this product, but it's never too early to get excited. I'm certainly going to pickup a pack or two of this and hope for the best. The best for me would be something like a Brett Gardner jersey card. He's my favorite current Yankee.
- 2011 Panini Classics Basketball,Approx. Release Date 3/23/11:
Panini's 2011 Classics Basketball is all about living up to 2010 Classics Basketball. Last years product was one of my favorite basketball releases, so I'm excited to see what Panini has in store for this years release. With on-card rookie auto's and a heavy focus on hoops legends, Classics does has me salivating. I'm liking the info I've seen so far on A Knight's Lance, but I'd like to see a few more images of the base cards and inserts.
Each box will contain 2 auto'd and 2 memorabilia cards per hobby box. Classics will also feature a Classics Moment insert set chronicling some of the biggest moments in NBA history. That definitely sounds promising! This looks like a nice product that is sure to feature some of the best rookie auto'd cards of 2011 as they will be on-card signatures.
Stay tuned for another Product Preview post next week that will feature several upcoming basketball and hockey releases. Until then, which upcoming products are you most excited for?
I recently added a very nice 2009 Upper Deck Exquisite Inscriptions Auto Thurman Thomas card to my collection. The card is absolutely beautiful and is numbered 14 of 15. I'm really excited to have this card in my collection. I've bid on every copy of this card that's come on the secondary markets over the past year.
Surprisingly, two copies appeared on eBay over the past two weeks. The first sold for $69.97 (click here) about a week and a half ago. I put a late bid in on this one just before it shot up to the $50.00 range. I was disappointed that I was quickly outbid with a few seconds to go in the auction, but you have to know when to fold 'em.
With a limited print run of only 15, I didn't think I'd see another one of these Thomas cards for awhile. As the collector gods would have it though, another copy was listed last week. I knew the market value on the card from the last auction and ones previous. I assumed I'd be out snipped on this one too, but my late bid held strong.
I paid $33.99 with free shipping. I don't normally spend over $15-$20 on a single card let alone over $30.00, but this is a really great item this Bills die hard just couldn't pass up. I'm especially excited I payed less than half of what the previously listed card sold for.
I have a number of nice Thomas cards in my collection, but this one certainly takes the cake. At least until the next one! Happy collecting and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".
The fortunes of an NBA franchise can be changed seemingly overnight. That night is usually some time around June 23rd, the night of the NBA Draft. Which similar to the NFL Draft, is like a holiday to me. The decisions made on draft night, coupled with key trades and free agent signings can turn a perennial cellar dweller into a powerhouse. So which NBA franchises have made the right moves to put their teams on the rise and which have made the wrong decisions? Lets look at a few teams as stocks considering future growth potential.
NBA Teams On The Rise
The L.A. Clippers might be the best team to invest in right now. This is partly do to how low the stock has been for basically the entire history of the franchise since it moved from Buffalo, NY in 1978. The growth potential is immense. When you take out Brian Cook, Rasual Butler and Baron Davis, the average age of the 11 other Clippers players is 24. With talented young players like Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon, DeAndre Jordan and Eric Bledsoe, the future is bright in Clipper land. Unless of course, the curse of the Clippers shows its ugly head. By "curse", I mean Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
It should be of no surprise that the Oklahoma City Thunder are a team on the rise. Actually, I'm sure many readers consider the Thunder to be a team that is not on the rise, but rather, a team that has arrived already. However, the truth is this team is still very young at just under an average age of 25. The team will also get a bit younger and free up some cap space to sign their young guns when Nick Collison and Morris Peterson are no longer with the team. Think about this, Collison makes more than double of what Kevin Durant makes/year at more than $13 million compared to Durant's $6 million. With players like J. Green, K. Durant and R. Westbrook in the fold, the Thunder are a team on the rise in a hurry.
The Chicago Bulls organization has finally put a contender together after the Jordan years. So I guess it was a good move for Bulls management to dismantle the Bulls dynasty when they did. Otherwise, we would be waiting another ten years for a "Baby" Bulls contender. In all seriousness, the Chicago Bulls are no joke. The team follows the same youth movement as the above mentioned Clippers and Thunder with an average team age of just under 28 (Kurt Thomas' 38 skews the average a bit) and they are loaded with talent. I'm not a Derrick Rose fan, but he is a physical freak at the PG position. This team also has a number of solid trade pieces if they so chose to add a different piece before the trade deadline. With Noah, Boozer, Rose and Deng in the mix, this is one stock that is loaded for the long haul.
I know the New York Knicks is a homer pick by me, but think about this. The Knicks added Amar'e Stoudemire and Rymond Felton during the past off season, who will they add this upcoming off season? That's right, I'm talking about the end of the Eddie Curry era in NYC. His more than $11 million/per will finally be coming off the books this year. The Knicks are poised to be over $16 million under the cap next year. I'm no math major, but that's some solid dough. Combine that with young and talented players like Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Landry Fields, Timofey Mozgov and Anthony Randolph, and you have a lot of excitement building in the Garden. Oh yeah, the Knicks are also the fourth youngest team in the NBA with an average age of only 25.
The Memphis Grizzlies just made the category. They are a risky stock at this point. I like many of the moves they have made through free agency and the draft in recent year. However, this team and franchise is at a crossroads. Mainly, they do not have enough talent to contend for a championship as currently constructed. Rudy Gay is an all-star caliber player, but not a superstar. Mike Conley is a very nice PG, but not an elite PG in the NBA. Marc Gasol does a lot of things well for the Grizzlies, but nothing great. Do you see where I'm going here? Basically, as constructed, the Grizzlies are a nice team that is coming very close to its plateau. The crossroads decision is whether management will make a move to bring a superstar in that can catapult this team and franchise to the next level. The good news is that Memphis is the second youngest team in the Association. Also, they will have some cap space freed up as Gasol, Z. Randolph and others will be free agents. They also have a lot of solid talent up and down the roster and many trade options. The first step is to figure out what to do with recently demoted and former 3rd overall pick, O.J. Mayo. The team needs a superstar to bring the rest of the talent together and make the Grizzlies a more enticing stock.
NBA Teams On The Fall
The Portland Trailblazers have been a team on the rise for seemingly forever. That's for good reason. Brandon Roy was one of the best players in the Association. Along with one of the youngest rosters, the Blazers management also assembled one of the best stockpiles of talent in the Association. The problem with those previous statements is that they were all in the past tense. Brandon Roy is no longer one of the best players in the league. In fact, it's uncertain whether Roy can comeback from his 1,488th knee surgery. Two of the teams starters, M. Camby and A. Miller, are 36 and 34 years of age respectively. The salary cap isn't going to do the Blazers any favors either over the next few seasons. Think about this. After all those issues, I still haven't mentioned Greg Oden. With all those negatives, there are actually a few bright spots. LaMarcus Aldridge is finally playing up to his #2 overall draft selection and $65 million contract extension. Plus, Aldridge is only 25 years old. Young wing players like W. Mathews and N. Batum are also playing well.
For some reason, I've always liked the Portland Trailblazers. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the Rose Garden in the Rose City. It might be watching Terry Porter passing to Clyde "The Glyde" for a majestic dunk. It could be Buffalo's own Clifford Robinson. Or even an amazingly smooth Brandon Roy game winner. Maybe it's all of these great moments that drive me to root for the Blazers. I'm not someone who believes in luck of any kind, but damn, this team has had some bad luck over the years. I hope Oden and Roy can come back healthy to become a team on the rise again.
The Denver Nuggets had a nice run over the past few seasons that included an appearence in the 2009 Western Conference Finals. Unfortunately for the Nuggets and their fans, C. Billups and K. Martin are not getting any younger. On top of an aging core, the franchise wants out. Carmelo Anthony doesn't see much of a future in Denver and neither do I. Nuggets management need to trade 'Melo and start all over. Too bad a young Dikembe Mutombo, Laphonso Ellis and Antonio Mcdyess aren't available to start over with. That would help to put this team's stock back on the rise.
To say the sun is out in Phoenix is an understatement. The Phoenix Suns have had a supernova over the past several months. After losing Amar'e to free agency, the Suns are left with an aging and over paid squad. In fact, it looks like the Suns will again be over the salary cap next year. And how does Vince Carter make $7 million more than Steve Nash? Someone please explain that one to me. The Suns have really been a model franchise over the past two decades, but have failed to plan for the future over the past two years. I long for the years of Kevin Johnson and "Thunder" Dan Majerle. It will take a long time before this stock is up again.
