"Personnel decisions are ahead for the Trail Blazers´ brain trust, and if coach Nate McMillan has any say, one of the decisions will be on forward Zach Randolph. Decisions, as in: Can Randolph play for McMillan? Or: Do the Blazers go to another plan and build around a different player?" Oregonian
"Instead, McMillan said the team´s "attitude" -- not pressing roster concerns or the team´s 6-14 record -- was the most relevant topic. Certain players on the team are too selfish, not committed to the professional game, and don´t play hard enough during games, he said. "You´ve got to have the attitude that you want to be here, and if you don´t, then when you are here, you work while you are here to make this club a better team," McMillan said. "So, do the things you are supposed to. Be where you are supposed to be, when you are supposed to be there. And when you are out on the floor, give 100 percent, and when things aren´t going right, look at yourself first." Oregonian
"It´s tough to coach that. Tough to coach that," McMillan said. "Almost impossible, because you are handcuffed as an organization and as a staff when so much is invested. So you have to try and figure out what to do, whether to, if you can, to get those players, or that particular player, to play . . . or whether you do something else." Oregonian
"Blazers GM John Nash told me that he couldn´t see trading Randolph for an expiring contract. Said Nash, "our goal would be to get a high-level player in return." Oregonian
"Any decision on Randolph probably will wait until the end of the season, but that doesn´t mean the Blazers will finish their schedule with their current roster. Thursday is the first significant trading date in the NBA, marking the initial chance for teams to include in trades free agent signees acquired on or before Sept. 15. For the Blazers, that includes Juan Dixon and Charles Smith, while Steve Blake becomes eligible to be traded on Sunday (90 days after his Sept. 19 signing date)." Oregonian
"General manager John Nash said in a perfect world the Blazers would be able to trade one of their small forwards for a power forward who can shoot, a player similar to Seattle´s Vladimir Radmanovic. He said before the season, he and McMillan targeted Dec. 15 as the date to make an assessment of their stable of small forwards, which consists of Darius Miles,