Ric Bucher says that Hedo did visit Portland, where a deal appeared all but certain, but ultimately decided that because Toronto was closer to his native Turkey, has a large Turkish population, and is a "cosmopolitan city"...

(pauses to sip mimosa, adjust monocle)

...it was the more attractive destination. Plus, he's already spent significant time in the city as co-host of The Basketball Jones.

Kind of strange how Hedo, a crucial cog in the Magic's run to the NBA Finals, ends up with the Raptors right after he gets replaced in Orlando by Vince Carter. And while some may blanche at the team giving $50 million plus to a thirty-year-old, even the faintest notion that he got pushed out the door for that über-talented marshmallow will be enough to endear him to Toronto fans forever.

Sources: Turkoglu headed to Toronto [ESPN]

Awwwww, right? So this guy I kind of know predicts the Blazers will beat the Rockets, only to be "schooled" as the saying goes by the Lakers, but adds that it will be "valuable experience for this promising young team," which is sort of how I feel about all my humiliations minus I guess the parts about "young" and "promising."

I find it always helps whenever I am writing about a challenging new topic to find sympathetic characters to whom I can relate and reading the internet I am starting to feel like this Greg Oden guy might understand. If A.J. fires me tonight maybe I'll just start a screenplay about what would happen if we met and by some unlikely sequence of events found ourselves charged with looking after an ethnically-diverse passel of potty-mouthed pipsqueaks, like a sort of fusion of Ghost World and Dangerous Minds. Probably though I will just get drunk.

Let's see if we can get this straight now: In 2004, the Blazers gave Miles an ill-advised six-year, $48 million contract. About a year and a half into it, Miles got hurt and had to have microfracture surgery. (Whatever that is.) He missed half of 2006 and all of the next two seasons. Portland, desperate to rid themselves of his contract, had his injury declared "career-ending," which allowed them to cut Miles and get the remainder of his contract taken off the books for salary cap purposes. (Though they still have to pay him the money, I think.) However, if it turns out that the player's career is not over—and it doesn't look like it is—another team can sign him. If he plays in just 10 games, the salary cap relief for his original team is rescinded.

In Portland's case, that's $18 million they cannot afford, which effectively destroys their salary cap on a player who hasn't suited up for them in three years. They are desperate to not let that happen, but to avoid it means sabotaging any attempt by Miles to make a comeback. They preemptively threatened to sue any team that picked him up, claiming any team that did so would only be doing it to hurt the Trail Blazers and not because they feel Miles has any basketball value—which in Portland's eyes, he clearly doesn't because he's a bum. They brought in doctors to testify to his ineptitude, bad mouthed Miles around the league trying to convince everyone his injury was irreversible, and threw in the lawsuit threats just for kicks. Whatever it takes to keep Miles off of NBA courts.

Of course, Memphis probably wasn't interested in playing Miles to begin with, but as soon as Portland dickishly pointed out that such a move would hurt the Trail Blazers franchise, the Grizzlies probably figured, "Yes, let's do that." Spite is a powerful motivator, as is being able to screw over a rival team with a simple ten-day contract. Miles will be on the Memphis roster for at least three more games, and all he has to do is play in two of them to stick it to his old team big time.

Questions surround Trail Blazers' actions [NBA.com]
Grizzlies ignore threat, sign Darius Miles [AP]

Jason Quick, Blazers' beat writer for the Oregonian, conducted a radio interview with 1080 The Fan and shared these thoughts about Portland's not-so-special player:

I can’t really stand to be around him. He’s such a downer. He’s not a very fun guy to be around and he’s not a very fun guy to talk to. I think his teammates like him, but that guy is not interacting with very many guys in the locker room right now. He can’t let go of being Greg Oden. I think he’s obsessing with all this expectations. Until he starts having fun again playing basketball, he’s not going to get better. I don’t know how he’s going to do that.

Blazers' coach Nate McMillan also sees that Oden needs little coddling so, apparently, he treats him like a potty training special needs child . Here's an example of McMillan's embarrassing positive reinforcement:

Oden's statistics against Toronto were modest — 10 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks. But his defense was a major factor in the game. He was a formidable presence, often changing the shots of driving players. He held his ground against veteran Jermaine O'Neal, causing the former All-Star to make several wild, fading attempts.

"He was really looking like that center of the future," McMillan said. "I just thought he did some good things, and so I said that to the team. I said, 'Big fella, you came through. I like what you are doing.'"

Spontaneously, the team erupted in applause.

Yaaaay.

Blazers Give It Up For Oden [The Oregonian]
Message to Greg Oden: Quit Paying Attention to the Media and Get Your Head in the Game [The Big Lead]

I'll give Oden this much: He’s already been more durable than he was last season. After all, he managed to play almost three whole minutes of a real, honest-to-goodness regular season game before hurting himself. He hobbled through nine more minutes of first-half "action" after the injury, but he played poorly (zero points, 0-for-4, 5 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls) and spent the second half in the locker room wearing a walking boot.

According to Oden, he landed on Derek Fisher's foot while going after a rebound. Only Fisher said: "I don't remember a 7-footer on my foot." So what happened? According to ESPN's J.A. Adande: "Replays indicate that Oden landed with the weight on the front of his foot, then perhaps his heel hit the top of Fisher's foot, then Oden's foot twisted to the right, after Fisher had moved away."

Uh oh. X-rays taken during the third quarter were inconclusive, and Oden is scheduled to have an MRI exam today in Portland. But, as Bill Walton might tell you (in glaring hyperbole no doubt), the description of the injury screams "stress fracture."

For his part, Oden doesn't sound too worried: "It (stinks). But (I'll) keep on working. It's just a little setback. I'll still be in the gym tomorrow."

Know who else isn't worried? Channing Frye. He seems to think that Joel Przybilla pretty much equals Greg Oden. "If [Oden's] hurt, that's part of basketball. We just moved on. Joel's not chopped liver."

True. He's more Salisbury steak than chopped liver. And although he's certainly not part of the Blazers' grand future plans, his pro career has, so far, certainly outshined Oden's...all 12 minutes of it.

When last we saw them: Finished 41-41, third in the Northwest Division and a "the future is bright" 10th overall in the West.

Here they come: Brandon Rush, Ike Diogu, Jerryd Bayless, Luke Jackson, Nicolas Batum, Rudy Fernandez, Shavlik Randolph

There they go: James Jones, Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts, Von "I'm not a German sugar cookie" Wafer

The Good: The team is smart and disciplined, both on offense and (even better) defense (where they ranked eighth in both opponents' field goal percentage and points allowed). There's this big guy, oh crap, what's his name again...? Oh, yeah, Greg Oden. Anyway, this relatively unknown kid out of The Ohio State University might just make something out of himself someday. All kidding aside, this guy is a double-double/shot-blocking machine waitng to be unleashed on the NBA. And Oden's mere presence is going to draw defensive attention away from his teammates. That should make life easier on Brandon Roy, who's Portland's best player (19.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 5.8 APG). Roy does and says all the right things and works tirelessly - seriously, he doesn't sleep - to improve his game. LaMarcus Aldridge can fill the hoop (17.8 PPG) and clean the glass (7.6 RPG). Travis Outlaw is quietly effective (13.3 PPG, 39 percent three-point shooting) and has a wicked-cool name. Steve Blake is relatively decent at the point and Jerryd Bayless is the heir to that throne. (It's okay, Steve. You'll make a great backup when that day comes!) Like Bayless, Rudy Fernandez is another one of those "gonna be really special someday" rookies. Martell Webster provides pointage off the bench. (Or he will when he returns from foot surgery, anyway.) Joel Przybilla is a Vanilla Godzilla on the boards. Plus, he blocks (or diverts) shots and won't complain about PT (which is a good thing now that Oden's back). Did I mention this team is deep? They ranked fifth in bench points (34.0 per game) last season...and they added even more good players. The sky's the limit for this bunch.

The Bad: This team's biggest obstacle in the immediate future is managing expectations. Sure, they won 41 games last season, but, to be frank, they overachieved to do it. Seriously, they ranked pretty poorly in several major statistical categories: 30th in steals (5.5 per game), 29th in forcing turnovers (12.5), 27th in scoring (95.4), 26th in free throw attempts (22.5), 21st in blocks (4.4), 20th in field goal percentage (.448), 20th in rebound differential (-1.01) and 18th in assists (21.1). From that perspective, it's surprising they reached the 40-win plateau in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. (And, indeed, according to basketball-reference.com's Pythagorean W-L formula, they should have won around 38 games). Yet many people expect the Blazers - due to the return of Oden and the arrival of Bayless and Fernandez - to jump from "plucky overachievers" to "championship contender." It might not work out that way this season. I mean, Bayless and Fernandez are rookies. For that matter, so's Oden. They're going to face the same learning curve every other NBA rookie has to endure. The Blazers are going to be superduper special someday...but that day might be a wee bit later rather than sooner. And that could take a toll on the team's psyche. Plus, it's great having a surplus of talent and all that, but it's going to be nearly impossible to give each player the minutes he deserves. That can lead to grumpiness and hard feelings on the best of teams. Also, I think they're going to miss James Jones - who shot a sizzling 44 percent from beyond the arc last season - more than most people suspect.

Fun Facts: Last season, Portland was ranked dead last in fast break points (7.9 per game). They were also last in points in the point (31.2). The Blazers had three number one overall drafts picks before Oden: LaRue Martin (1972), Bill Walton (1974), and Mychal Thompson (1978). Speaking of which, the Blazers have taken their fair share of draft day criticism. And I'm not just talking about the Bowie-over-MJ thing. They chose Martin over Bob McAdoo (who would be named league MVP in 1975) and Thompson over Larry Bird (who was, you know, Larry Bird.) And going back to the Bowie thing for a second, Portland didn't just pass on Jordan, they also missed out on Charles Barkley and John Stockton. The Blazers greatest rivalry is with...a newspaper called The Oregonian. Seriously. Portland has retired numbers for eight players, a rather astonishing number for a team that's captured exactly one league championship. Those numbers are: 13 (Dave Twardzik, 1976–80), 14 (Lionel Hollins, 1975–80), 15 (Larry Steele, G, 1971–80), 20 (Maurice Lucas, 1976–80 and 1987–88), 22 (Clyde Drexler, 1983–95), 32 (Bill Walton, 1974–78), 36 (Lloyd Neal, 1972–79), 45 Geoff Petrie, 1970–76). Oh and apparently everybody wants to dunk on Greg Oden.

Videotastic extra: Greg Oden really loved Transformers. That's fine and everything, but...four stars, Greg? Really? Are you sure you didn't sleep through the section between the opening and ending credits?

Oden, who sat out last season with a knee injury, scored Portland's first points of the preseason with a pretty impressive dunk, going on to score 13 points in about 20 minutes. So now, let the hype begin. Here's the assessment of Young Frankenstein's debut from Blazers Edge:

I assume that the minute he stepped on the court everybody saw the difference between Greg Oden and not just everybody else in the game, but pretty much everybody else on the planet. I mean, “RAAAAAWWWR! GREG SMASH NOW!” What? Huh? Say, you’re pretty hu… “YOU MOVE NOW! GREG DUNK BIG!” Oh sorry…I was standing in your way there. My mistake. (I don’t mean to convey any limited conversational skills on Greg’s part…there just aren’t polite words and whole sentences for what he does out there. It’s primal.) His offense obviously needs some work, but then again what’s wrong with a back-down dribble, a spin, or an offensive rebound and then a monster slam? Sounds good to me.

More photos here, and further Oden worshipping here. Of his five baskets, four were dunks, and he also blocked a dunk attempt by Sacramento center Spencer Hawes. For a more detailed analysis of Oden's performance, look no further than Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge: "I'm going on record and saying that Greg is a man-child."

• Elgin Baylor Unceremoniously Tossed Overboard By Clippers. Former Lakers star Elgin Baylor, who was a great shooter, rebounder and passer during his career — therefore leaving him nothing in common with today's players — has stepped down as vice president of basketball operations with the Los Angeles Clippers. And by stepped down we mean resigned amidst some sort of dispute. Mike Dunleavy will assume his responsibilities as general manager. The Clippers issued an 18-word press release; hardly a fitting tribute considering the man spent 22 seasons with the team.

• Captain Ron. Ron Artest's Houston Rockets debut highlighted an otherwise tepid, mistake-prone exhibition opener at the Toyota Center, Houston beating Memphis 96-93. Carl Landry led the Rockets with 18 points, and Artest scored 12 of his 15 points in the first quarter, making three of his five 3-pointers. But he made just one of five shots in the second half and four of 12 overall.

• It's Go Time. Wizards' forward Antawn Jamison wasted little time climbing onto the pain train, leaving their exhibition game with the Mavericks in the first quarter with a right knee injury. Dirk Nowitzki and Brandon Bass each scored 17 points to lead Dallas to a 108-82 win.

Oden On The Mic [Rise With Us]
Greg Oden: quality baller, terrible singer [Hard For The Yard]

That may sound big and important, but it seems like everyone and their sister in the Western Conference gets a 10-game winning streak. The Blazers had one, the Jazz had one, the Rockets are still on one, the Lakers' just ended ... okay, so all of four teams. That's not every team. Shaddap. Brandon Roy keeps stretching the envelope or whatever the hell you do with an envelope to symbolize greatness, tossing around a career-high 12 assists to go with 20 points. Jarrett Jack (Jingleheimer Schmidt) had similar numbers off the bench, ending with 21 points and 10 assists.

Everything's Coming Up Rafer. To be Rafer Alston on this night has to be envious. He woke up to the news that his assault charges are being dropped. He then contributed to his team's win over Memphis, extending the team's win streak to 14. He might've also had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, and that's never a negative experience. Now if he just got laid after the game, Alston would have scored a bingo on the Awesome Day card, provided he used the free space.

• Jazz Is Trying To Make A Comeback. I'm not necessarily advocating a mercy rule in the NBA, but when the score after the first quarter is Hornets 38-15, is there really an impetus to make a comeback at this point, especially when the Jazz have lost so many games on the road? But let's give them some credit, they actually made some semblance of a clawing-back and were at one point down by just four points. That's the kind of silver lining that 14 seeds in the NCAA tournament accept in their first round losses. Chris Paul was the boss on this night with 24 points, 16 assists and 5 steals.

• Ha. Ha. Ha. Atlanta 99, New York 93. That still never gets old.

(Getty photo)

Yes, at last, Draft Kevin Durant met the real Kevin Durant. It was a as pleasing an experience as you would suspect.

To me, it was like an episode of Oprah where long-lost siblings are reunited, cause for tears, celebration and I-need-to-take-a-step back awe. To him, it was just another pre-game interview in which he is eating a granola bar and counting down until game time. I understand him. And, for some reason, I think he understands me too. White fan; Black athlete. It's a story often told. This is the NBA.

This pretty much sums up every interview between an athlete and a reporter, since the beginning of time.

Kevin Durant Interview [Draft Kevin Durant]

The Trail Blazers have won 11 straight, and if you don't think that all of Oregon has a giant Royboner over that, you don't know your Pacific Northwest states. The Blazers beat the SuperSonics 89-79 on Tuesday, and to make it all the more special for the hometown folks, ESPN was there! Wow! From Blazers' Edge:

The ESPN machine came rumbling through town. They overtook the press room, increased the Blackberry and hair gel quotient, and, in the end, seemed to thoroughly enjoy the show. Our show. That's right, the single hottest team in the National Basketball Association with some of the loudest, proudest fans in the league. It's the longest current winning streak in the NBA, and Portland's best run since the 2001-02 season, when they won 12 straight. Brandon Roy and Jarrett Jack each scored 17 points for the Blazers, who have a 12-game winning streak on Christmas. Even Ray Ratto — a professional skeptic — is impressed. He somehow managed to rip the Buzzsaw, though!

• Lakers Continue To Tease Fans. Kobe Bryant, who apparently doesn't want to be traded now, scored 26 of his 38 points in the second half to lead the Lakers over the Suns 122-115. It was L.A.'s ninth win in 11 games.

• But Then, Who Doesn't Beat The Heat This Season? And now, a Christmas message from LeBron James: "I got elbowed by Shaq in the face, which is not a good thing. Ever." James scored 25 points to lead Cleveland to a 95-82 win over Miami.

• All Is Well, All Is Well, Alliswelliswell ... This just in: Isiah believes that the Knicks' future "is brighter now than when I came here four years ago." They just have to "keep grinding." And Marbury's back! Oh, and that thing going on over in Iraq? Proceeding nicely!

• Ay, Caramba! Denver looked lost from the get-go in this one, and with good reason. The Nuggets had to dress in the visitors' locker room — I know! — because of a fire in their locker room Sunday morning. Coach Karl said a dryer "blew up" in the home locker room around 2am. No perpetrator stepped forward, but I'm guessing Najera's flowing locks had something to do with it. Brandon Roy dropped a team-high 26 points and 11 assists as the Blazers continued blazing with a 116-105 road win. Portland (12-12) led most of the way in running its "triumph streak" to seven. As Ziller points out: "Now when the Blazers end the year with 37 or so wins, we can add Oden in our mind's calculator and overrate Portland completely next October!"

• Stone Cold Nuts. Kobe scored 32 points to lead the Lakers to a 113-92 victory over the hallway visiting Clippers. Listed as a game-time decision after injuring his groin on Friday, Kobe decided he could play through the pain. "I didn't sleep," he said. "I was doing therapy for 24 hours, iced it down, had a weight-training session for my legs, kept stretching and doing what I needed to do." That cackle you hear in the background? LeBron James.

• On Sunday Morning. I literally punched myself in the neck for not betting on the Pistons in this one. Why? Because a 12:30pm start time — on the first game of a road trip, no less — is absolutely hell for a West Coast team like the Warriors. I bet they didn't even have their Froot Loops in 'em by tip. Gah. I should be rich right now. Tayshaun Prince scored 23 points and Antonio McDyess posted 14 and 11 as the Pistons beat the hungry Warriors 109-87. Detroit has now won nine of their last 11.

• Ring The Bells And Sound The Alarm! The current chances of Boston posting a 72-10 record or better are 8.1 percent. They also have a 100% chance at making the playoffs. I think they just might. Paul Pierce scored 18 points, Kevin Garnett had 16 and the Celtics extended their winning streak to nine games by beating the Raptors 90-77. The start of the second half was delayed because of a leaky vent in the ceiling of the Air Canada Centre, leaving water dripping onto the floor. But don't worry; Raptors Mop Girl mopped that shit up like she had never mopped before!

Well, the blog's purveyor went to Blazers.com and bought an official Durant Trail Blazers jersey (and is wearing it to the Blazers game tonight), which is an obsession culmination we can respect. We don't know if anyone owns a Jordan Blazers jersey, but we like the idea. What other woulda shoulda couldas are out there?

Seems like a fun Friday question, we suppose.

Draft Kevin Durant

The only people who seem happy about this are the folks at Draft Kevin Durant, who are feeling awfully good about themselves. Mostly, though, we've been impressed by the outpouring of sympathy and sadness toward Oden. For a guy who could turn out to be a rather major draft disaster, everyone's certainly on his side. From Blazers' Edge:

Greg, you have nothing to apologize for. Of course everybody was disappointed over the results from yesterday. How could you not be? But everyone was disappointed for you, not about you. We want to see you play. We look forward to the day when you put on that uniform and take the court to a thunderous standing ovation. We're eager to watch you mold the game around you as you've shown you can do. We're going to have to wait another year to do that. But it's not the end of the world...for you, for us, for anybody.

In the coming year I suspect you're going to learn something about what it means to be a Trailblazer. That rally at the downtown square after you were drafted? It was only the tip of the iceberg. For every one of the thousands of people that came that day there were a hundred more who couldn't come but felt the same way. Nobody's going to stop thinking about you. Nobody's going to stop cheering you. Nobody's going to stop believing in you. Every person you meet in the coming year is going to smile and shake your hand and wish you well and a speedy recovery. You're going to be as welcomed and accepted for riding a stationary bike and doing rehab exercises as you would be if you were notching 20 and 20 every night. That's what it means to be part of the Blazers. We don't leave our own. We don't give up on our own. Even if you never played another minute in your life you would still be a Blazer—one of us—and we would still love you for it. This ain't L.A. or New York where you perform or get forgotten. This is Portland, baby, and Portland never forgets its own.

Man, Portland sounds like heaven on earth there. Well, unless you commit a crime. Then you're dirt.

An Open Letter To Greg Oden [Blazers Edge]
Cataclysm [Draft Kevin Durant]

Actually, anyone who read his blog a couple of days ago might have seen this coming.

On my vacation earlier this summer i got up off the couch and remember my knee having a sharp pain in it. That was about a month ago. I didn't tell anyone because i didn't want to seem like i was complaining or making excuses for anything. Plus i wasn't doing anything at the time i realized it hurt, so i figured it couldn't be anything big. After a couple of weeks, i had to finally tell someone so i went to St. Vincent's Sports Performance (where i worked out at before draft) and got my knee looked at. That was right before i moved to Portland for good. My knee was swollen since i was there. I finally just said that i need to tell my trainer because this is not normal. We went to the doctor's the next day to get a MRI and that night me and my mom ended up in the doctor's office being told that I have to get surgery. It's a light one, just a scoop, but still it's just another setback. I would like for me to be playing and not seem like i'm a high maintenance player, but things just keep popping up.

That was two days ago, but Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo still gets the scoop and wonders whether the Trail Blazers should have been more worried all along. We find this whole "is his body breaking down?" rhetoric a bit much; he is, after all, 19, and bodies don't break down at 19. Because he's 19. Greg Oden. 19. Bodies don't break down at the age of 19. Because that's how old he is.

Damaged Goods? [Yahoo Sports]
Greg Oden's Blog [Yardbarker]
The Worst Case Scenario For Greg Oden [True Hoop]

Though some Portland fans have already put together a Draft Kevin Durant blog, it seems likely that Greg Oden is going to be the first pick, and Durant's going to be playing in either Seattle or Oklahoma City. For all the disappointed teams and fans this morning, Portland — a franchise that has been trying to crawl its way back — and Seattle — a franchise that just found itself a desperately needed identity — were the lucky winners. Before we delve into those whose hearts were crushed, we salute the Pacific Northwest, which might very well be the center of the NBA universe for the next, oh, 10 years ago. Well, if Seattle keeps its team, anyway.

Is The First Pick A Money Maker? [CNBC]
The Draft Lottery Miracle [OregonLive]
Draft Kevin Durant
Live From Secaucus [True Hoop]