We Have A Take: A Portland Trail Blazers Fan Podcast

Dillon Sage (@dasage) of Holy Backboard (@holybackboard) joined Tara to help level-set a few observations before the new season starts. We’re going back to the basics to work out what each player brings to the court: does he dribble, pass and shoot? And what is his one skill that you can count on to get him or keep him on the court?

1:00 Icebreaker: Immediate reaction to the new Statement jerseys

6:30 Setting the scene for the dribble, pass, shoot exercise

11:00 Examples of where players didn’t “fit” together on the Blazers

12:30 Words matter so saying officially that for the purpose of this discussion, it's not that they can’t do any of these things, they just don’t based on how they play. Any of these guys could dribble, pass and shoot us into oblivion.

13:00 Damian Lillard

21:00 Anfernee Simons

31:15 Jusuf Nurkic

34:30 Jerami Grant

40:30 Josh Hart

43:00 Justise Winslow

45:15 Nassir Little

50:00 Trendon Watford

55:05 Gary Payton II

58:40 Shaedon Sharpe

1:06:00 Jabari Walker

1:07:00 Drew Eubanks

1:08:30 Greg Brown III

1:13:15 Keon Jonhson

Give it a listen. It is like training camp for the brain, getting warmed up for the season to start!

Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Actor and Trail Blazer Superfan Kelly AuCoin (@KellyAucoin77)  joined Tara just before training camp opens to talk about the upcoming season. What are we worried about? What are we not worried about? What are we too hyped about? What are we not hyped enough about? All of that PLUS: Maple bars at Huckleberry Inn, the the congressional gym, his first on-screen acting gig, upcoming project, The Sterling Affair, and finally a shock to me, the fleece vests on Billions are not a nod to the northwest!

1:00 Icebreaker: Pumpkin Spice or Maple? Huckleberries Maple Bars all the way

4:40 How Kelly became a Trail Blazers basketball fan. LaRue Martin.

7:10 Staying connected to the team from all around the country

9:30 Tales from the Congressional Gym and the Congressional Exhibition Basketball Team

17:00 Does being an actor make it easier to meet basketball players?

25:00 CJ McCollum and LaMarcus talk

29:35 What are we worried about? Injuries, other teams

31:00 What are we not worried about? Damian Lillard, ab ambassador

35:40 What are we too hyped about? We both are guilty of going too far so we are proudly too hyped about Shaedon Sharpe. Tara might be too hyped about Nurkic even thought SHE BELIEVES IN HIM.

41:35 What are we not hyped up enough about? Don’t be mad, we of course love them, but we might be able to get more hyped about Anfernee Simons and Gary Payton II.

48:40 Blazers Celebrity Fan Council

57:00 Coming up - the Sterling Affairs! Watch for it it's going to be so good!

Hang out with us on the Trailcaster’s Discord Server

Follow us on Twitter: WHAT Pod @wehaveatake, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet.

Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Friends of the show Brit (@britrobotista) and Jannelle (@Jannelle12) join Tara to catch up on their favorite teams. The Rockets and the Warriors - with the leagues worst record and championship rings respectively - are in very different places. How do the Blazers plans for 2023 compare with either team? Tune in to find out what these fans are thinking. 

1:00 Catching up

3:00 Houston Catch up

9:30 GSW Plan

17:00 Draymond Green 

21:30 Does the current CBA help small markets? 

29:00 Previous lockout

37:00 Follow up to Blazer's Broadcasting. 

42:00 There's nothing going on with the Warriors that hasn't been exposed in the media All eyes on them.

45:45 NBA Wide Drama

51:00 Lakers drama

Hang out with us on the Trailcaster’s Discord Server

Follow us on Twitter: WHAT Pod @wehaveatake, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet.

Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Kaylie and Erik, aka @ Protoplutonian and @ShoozumOops join Tara to share how they became Blazer fans and get caught up on the latest news from the Blazers: broadcasters will not be hitting the road with the team this season. We also talk about things that happened in 2015 (the last time we cared about the PDX carpet), how Shaedon Sharpe and Jabari Walker might get along, and how excited we are to have a true NBA fashion icon (Jerami Grant) on the team. All of this and more! 

Find Protoplutonian's stickers and more on her website after August 31 - the site is currently being updated. 

Icebreaker: What is a piece of Blazer gear you are really looking forward to wearing this season?

Protoplutonian Stickers are awesome, check them out after August 31

6:45 Shout out to Cully Strength Fitness

7:15 Becoming Blazer fans. Erik has been since he was a kid, Kaylie is relatively new.

12:15 Kaylie’s story: It started November 2, 2019

15:30 Blazer couple stories and handling our emotional investment . . . in the team.

22:15 The Drew League is wrapping up, then Euro League and then . . .

23:15 The NBA Schedule!

27:00 Rivals week

33:00 Things to look forward to with the new players on the team

34:00 Jerami Grant is ACTUALLY fashionable. And probably the best power forward the Blazers have had since LaMarcus. Seems like a thoughtful person.

41:25 When is someone going to sign Ben McLemore and Carmelo Anthony?

44:00 Blazers Broadcasting not sending people to cover away games

48:00 Conspiracy theory?

55:00 What do you think about the leaked PDX Carpet Jerseys?

1:00:00 Jabari Walker got verified before Shaedon Sharp did, do you think this will be a problem?

1:10:00 Now we’re mad about the broadcast team not traveling again . . .

1:12:00 #TBAGTWTNAFCA

Tara welcomes first time guests, co-hosts of the Podland Trailcasters podcast, Keith Feltner-Smith and Chris Burkhardt. What starts with a brief meeting of the #AminuAppreciationSociety turns into the State of Blazer’s Media and ends a loooooong list of things we’re looking forward to this season. Do we have high expectations? Yes. Do we promise to have a fun time anyway? Yes.

1:00 Ice Breaker: Who is a random Blazer you haven’t thought about for a long time?

5:00 #AminuAppreciationSociety

13:00 Get to know the Trailcasters

19:00 Journalists - remember why you fell in love with sports in the first place!

21:00 The state of Blazer news and media right now (not great, Bob)

38:15 What role do podcasts play in the media?

44:00 What are we looking forward to?

45:00 How does Damian Lillard look healthy?

46:00 Will Jerami Grant be the player they expect him to be?

46:45 Healthy Dame ❤️

48:00 What will the defense look like?

49:00 Anfernee Simons - is he good or will he be great? How does he look next to Dame?

50:30 Trying to be realistic about expectations?

51:30 What does defending the rim look like?

53:30 What story is Damian Lillard going to tell this season?

54:45 People outside the market don’t get it. They don’t understand Damian Lillard.

56:00 What is that mixture of younger players and older statesmen Dame going to be like?

1:04 Will this be Nurk’s year? #JusufNurkicSupportFoundation

References

Zach Lowe on Al-Farouq Aminu :  He is a chunk of debris clanging around the gears of Portland's motion offense.

Fireworks almost ended career of top 2020 Tennessee basketball recruit before it began

Wesley Matthews: The Rebuilding of Iron Man | OregonLive.com

Zach Collins Rookie Year mini movie

Hang out with us on the Trailcaster’s Discord Server

Follow us on Twitter: WHAT Pod @wehaveatake, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet.

Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

This summer we're going to be getting to know more Blazer fans and introducing new voices to the conversation about #RipCity. Today Tara talked with two new friends from Twitter: Khadija (@kdplus_3) and Rachel (@pdx_rachel) about how they became fans, making friends with Blazer connections, and then discuss the Blazer's Off season so far. 

1:00 Introducing Khadija and Rachel

4:30 Damian Lillard inspires new fans

6:45 What we love about the game. 

8:30 Following a player vs following a team

9:50 Finding fans wherever you go

16:00 Getting a fist bump from Dame

18:30 Awkward selfies

20:00 Damian Lillard's extension

29:00 Jerami Grant came to play with Dame!

29:30 Off Season reactions in general

32:45 Summer League Observations

35:00 Players who are not starters still need roles

41:30 Prediction that Drew Eubanks will be a better back up center than people are giving him credit for.

43:00 Portland vs Seattle players

44:00 Gary Payton brings defense so who cares if he's 6'3"?

46:00 Summer League defensive effort - Trendon Watford protected the rim!

47:00 What we're watching for this season: "Oh!"; joy; playoffs

Follow us on Twitter: WHAT Pod @wehaveatake, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet.

Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Tara is joined by Oakland native and host of the Wake Up and Win podcast and The Street Roots Podcast, DeVon Pouncey (@Pounce_Sation). They talk about his experience celebrating in Oakland with Gary Payton II and what GP2 will bring to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Then we talk about a few themes that are emerging this Blazers off season:

Always a great time hearing from Devon who is a Warriors fan but calls Portland home. He's got tips for how to navigate a Championship parade and says he's hoping Rip City and Damian Lillard get to experience one too.

3:30 Championship Parades require planning

7:00 Playing for Gary Payton's AAU teams: “We won a lot of games, and we didn’t get a lot of compliments.”

9:45 Gary and Gary on Gary and Gary podcast pitch and more on father/son tandems

14:00 When your AAU team gets talks from exNBA players

16:00 Gary Payton 2 nickname - use Young Glove

18:00 Blazers’ offseason so far, starting with the Young Glove

27:30 Do the new players signal a new kind of basketball?

33:39 It is going to be so fun to watch a healthy, rested Damian Lillard

41:30 Is it possible the Blazers are going to get a defensive identity?

46:30 Shaedon Sharpe

52:00 Keeping players happy is going to be important - a clear role helps for Nurkic.

Follow us on Twitter: WHAT Pod @wehaveatake, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet.

Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Rose Harding (@roselharding) joins Tara to discuss the latest moving and shaking by the Blazers. Then the first annual WHAT Award winners are announced. Thanks everyone who voted and played along! 

1:00 Kevin Durant still isn’t a Blazer?

3:30 Do we regret not buying a Ben McLemore jersey?

7:48 Born into being a Blazer fan

11:23 Rose’s first Blazer game

15:00 Sports memories

18:00 When people think of us when they think of Blazers

20:00 The two Rose Hardings

22:00 Jerami Grant - how did this happen?

22:45 Harvey and Horace Grant (and Buck Williams and his glasses)

27:48 The Grant Legacy of number 44

29:00 Who is going to come to Portland to play with Dame?

30:00 Shaedon Sharp reactions

31:43 Is there a difference between red-shirting and choosing not to play?

32:15 95% sure tanking was the right thing to do

37:00 Summer league is going to be so fun

40:41 Shaedon Sharpe is ready to compete!

44:15 Jabari Walker

46:15 Awards announcements: MVP - Jusuf Nurkic’s Cats

49:30 Bench Celebrator Man of the Year - Greg Brown III

51:07 Most Improved ‘Fits - Jusuf Nurkic

57:30 Assistant Coach of the Year Award - Edniesha Curry

1:02:00 Luke Walton steps over a baby

Follow WHAT Pod @wehaveatake, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet. 

Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

It’s been a while! This week Tara was joined by Dustin and Sage from Holy Backboard, one of Rip City’s longest-running podcasts. We talked about how we still have no idea what the Blazers are going to do, speculated about what might have happened if the Blazers hadn’t tanked and then talked about some potential Blazer draft picks. They had to be separated on AJ Griffin and Bennedict Mathurin. Despite swearing I wouldn’t get attached, I'm now attached to Ousmane Dieng and Tari Eason.

2:10 Celebrating 300 Episodes of Holy Backboard, remembering the early years

9:50 How about the off season so far? Total mystery!

11:10 Who knows what the Blazers are going to do? 

12:40 Encouraging move hiring Mike Schmitz

13:50 Any significance to Blazers being named in so many rumors?

16:30 Trying to separate rumors from real possibilities

18:30 The team chose a direction. Was it the right one?

20:30 What would have happened if the Blazers hadn’t tanked?

27:10 Note of course that players were not playing to lose

29:00 It's still theoretical what Josh Hart and Justise Winslow could do on this team

29:50 Could they have been at least good enough to knock out the Pelicans and get their pick? 

35:25 It was so easy to climb on board and ride to tank town.

36:10 Holy Backboard Draft coverage history

40:20 AJ Griffin

50:25 Shaedon Sharpe

53:40 Bennedict Mathurin

55:50 Ousmane Dieng

59:30 Most ready to contribute right away?

1:00:00 Keegan Murray

1:04:20 Tari Eason

1:08:00 Jalen Duren

Special Guest Assistant Coach Specialist Jillian Adge (@JillAdge) of the SportsEthos Sacramento Kings Coverage (@EthosKings) podcast joined us this week to share extraordinary tales about the Kings as well as help us choose the nominees for WHAT Assistant Coach of the Year awards. We end with each drafting our three favorite players who played for both the Kings and the Blazers.

1:00 Intro Jill Adge

7:00 Icebreaker: Spin the Draft Lottery wheel on Tankathon (Jill got her team’s right!)

12:15 Why Jill is so versed in NBA Assistant coaches (and GMs)

29:45 Trail Blazer Assistant Coach of the Year nominees

30:15 Scott Brooks

34:30 Roy Rogers

36:44 Steve Hetzel

43:10 Edniesha Curry

49:00 Drafting our favorite players who played for both the Kings and the Blazers

Cassidy’s team: Brian Grant, Maurice Harkless, Seth Curry

Jill’s team: Shareef Abdul-Raheem, Bonzi Wells, Harry Giles

Tara’s team: Ben McLemore, Andre Miller, Skal Labissière

Follow WHAT Pod @wehaveatake, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet. This week’s guest:@JillAdge

Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License