Trail Blazers Are Due for a Break, And That Break is Victor Wembanyama
JUDAH NEWBY | 750 The Game
Trail Blazers fans have seen this movie before. The season begins with hope, encounters turbulence, tries desperately to rebalance, but ultimately nosedives into the depths of the NBA lottery.
That reality was confirmed with the news this week that Damian Lillard would sit out the remainder of the season. Portland is tied with Orlando for the fifth-worst record in the league with seven games to go.
But why can’t this ultimately turn out for the good?
“I feel the franchise is due,” John Canzano said Tuesday on 750 The Game. “I don’t want to jinx anything, I’m going to knock on wood right now, but I feel like they’re due for a break.”
Canzano says the franchise has seen enough heartbreak over the years to warrant the other shoe to drop, if only just once.
“You get the number-one pick (in ’07), you get Greg Oden, not Kevin Durant. You draft Sam Bowie, his leg doesn’t hold up. Bill Walton’s feet let you down in 1977-78. Brandon Roy’s knees. Damon Stoudamire’s patellar tendon ruptures. Joel Przybilla’s patellar tendon ruptures. We can take a stroll down injury lane, so to speak, with the Blazers. Are they not due for a break? Something to fall their way? One time?”
That break — winning the NBA Draft Lottery on May 16th — would result in landing the most coveted international prospect in generations: The 7-foot-5 inch phenom, Victor Wembanyama.
While not likely, Canzano says it is OK to hope for big things in Rip City.
“I expect that they’re going to get the (No. 1 overall) pick,” he predicted. “Victor Wembanyama is going to look great in a Blazers uniform. I said it.”
Catch the full show below, and listen to John Canzano deliver the Bald Faced Truth weekdays 3-6 p.m. exclusively in Portland on 750 The Game.
