The Collapse



• Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Costas was the play-by-play man for the Blazers' infamous Game 7 of the Western Conference finals matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000.



Costas discussed Portland's "Jail Blazers" sobriquet during those years and whether or not people across the country felt it was deserving.



"The national image was more forgiving than the nickname, in part because guys like Scottie Pippen and Arvydas Sabonis and Brian Grant gave them a bit of a good citizen's image," Costas says. "Pippen brought his cred from Chicago. Sabonis was an admirable talent who held his own against Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) as well as anybody. Mike Dunleavy was a respected coach. To a national audience, they were among the faces of the franchise.



"Rasheed (Wallace) was a terrific player who was notorious. He had a chip on his shoulder that stretched from Portland to Los Angeles, from the Rose Garden to Staples Center. The whole league and the whole world were against him, and he set records for technical fouls, which obscured what a good player he was. Bonzi Wells and J.R. Rider and guys like that were alternately an asset and a detriment. But from a national perspective, I don't think they were as much the face of the team."



_________________________________________



Things go better with …



• Shawn Kemp spent only two seasons (2000-02) with the Trail Blazers, the former All-Star forward on a descent as he struggled with weight problems and drug abuse.



The problems peaked in April 2001 when Kemp entered the NBA's anti-drug program.



There were indications that Kemp was having serious drug issues. He often would ride in the back of Paul Allen's private jet, where there was a single captain's seat in a private room.



"You could hear snorting sounds back there at times," said one player, who asked to remain unidentified.



Another player, who also chose to be anonymous, said Kemp was going through pre-practice stretches and drills when he ran to the bathroom. When he returned, the teammate noticed a white mustache line under Kemp's nose.



While doing team laundry, an equipment manager found little packets of cocaine in Kemp's dirty socks.



Then, on a game day, Gary Grant came to team officials with a Crown Royal bag full of coke that he had found in a toilet paper dispenser in the players' locker room at the Rose Garden.



A players-only meeting was called the next day. When teammates confronted Kemp, he denied it at first, saying, "I might smoke a little weed, but I'm not doing any cocaine."



After evidence was gathered on Kemp, NBA security met with him. Under the league's anti-drug program, he would not be fined or suspended if he went to a rehab program immediately. Kemp then turned himself in.



__________________________________________



Fisticuffs



• Forward Ruben Patterson, who played five years with the Blazers (2001-06), had a nasty fight during an April 2003 practice session with teammate Zach Randolph, which resulted in Patterson suffering a fractured orbital bone when Randolph sucker-punched him.



After the season, Patterson had requested a trade with the team's new basketball executives, President Steve Patterson and General Manager John Nash. When he arrived at training camp for the 2003-04 campaign still on the Portland roster, Ruben wasn't happy.



"I am very disappointed," he said. "I have not talked to the guys running the club now. I don't even know what Steve Patterson looks like. It upsets me. It's frustrating. They have known how I have felt (about Randolph) the whole summer. Deep down in your heart, you want to kill the guy.



"I'm not going to beat him up, or have somebody beat him up. I am going to go in with a positive attitude. Yeah, it's messed up, but I have to do my job. I have to think about my family and my future and my contract. I have to go in and do my job and help my team."



Randolph had apologized to Patterson in a meeting with team officials, "but it was a fake apology," Ruben said. "I know he didn't mean it."



"My whole thing is, (Randolph) can talk to me on the basketball court. Off the court, I want no part of him. No friends, nothing. I hate to have that type of attitude, but we can't be buddies, we can't be anything but teammates. You can be cool with me on the court, but off the court, you can't be around me."



_____________________________________________________



Rasheed and the ref



• Former referee Joey Crawford worked 39 years in the NBA until his retirement in 2016. Crawford weighed in on the post-game incident between referee Tim Donaghy and Portland forward Rasheed Wallace in 2003, which led to a seven-game suspension for Wallace. Donaghy would later serve a 15-month prison term for betting on games in which he officiated.



"I wish Rasheed would have beaten him up," Crawford says. "It wasn't the fact he disrespected my profession. I'm talking about Donaghy being what he was. It may not make sense to your readers, but it makes sense to all of us (referees). What Donaghy did was against everything a ref ever stood for. I wish Rasheed would have beat the hell out of him."​