Canzano: Damian Lillard -- and Trail Blazers fans -- stuck together
"They may not trade the guy."
Miami doesn’t have the pieces. The Trail Blazers don’t want to get pantsed in front of the rest of the NBA, so they won’t settle. What’s left is a summer standoff that threatens to leave Damian Lillard stuck in a Portland uniform to start next season.
Anyone ever dealt with Bert Kolde?
The vice chairman of Trail Blazers, Inc. is a less-than-holistic cat. A variety of vendors and arena tenants who have had dealings with him over the years tell me Kolde doesn’t just drive a hard bargain, he’s often intentionally difficult.
In fact, the operator of an entity that was faced with doing business with with the Blazers in recent years recently told me a story about Kolde. It rented the Moda Center for a few dates every year. But one year, the business was presented with steep and unexplained rate hike.