History of The Portland Trail Blazers - Whitsitt Makes His Mark

Whitsitt Makes His Mark

The 1996 off-season was yet another eventful one for the Trail Blazers. Strickland demanded a trade and got one, being sent to Washington (along with Harvey Grant) for forward Rasheed Wallace. A second trade brought guard Isaiah Rider from Minnesota. To replace Strickland, the Blazers signed playground legend Kenny Anderson to a free-agent contract. In the draft that year, the team selected a high school player, Jermaine O'Neal.

To some, this represented the influx of young talent the Blazers, who had been a rather ordinary team in previous years, needed to return to the ranks of the league powers. To others, the moves represented a disturbing new trend of placing talent above character. Wallace had a well-established reputation as a hothead. In addition, the drafting of high schooler O'Neal was a controversial move. However, the moves worked initially, as the Blazers improved on their prior record, winning 49 games. The playoff results were the same, however: a first round loss, this time to the Lakers. Carlesimo was fired and replaced with Mike Dunleavy.

One other long-time fixture with the Blazers left the team as well. Clifford Robinson, widely blamed for recent playoff failures (in part due to a noticeable decline in his performance in the playoffs) was allowed to leave as a free agent during the 1997 off-season.