So much happened the last 72 hours we were not even sure where to begin. So we ranked all the top stories and how we felt about them.

🤩 Starry eyes, could not be more excited!

😀Happy face, happy days!

😴 Don’t really care either way

🙃Blah

😱We’re screaming!

Listen to how we ranked all these stories and then create a tier list of your own! Share on Twitter and tag @wehaveattake so we know how you ranked them! All of this, plus Social Media Player of the Week!

2:15 How do we as fans feel about these recent stories?

3:00 Back-up point guard Ryan Archidiacano added to the roster

6:00 Cam Reddish in, Josh Hart out

10:00 All-Star Dame not named as a replacement for Steph

15:30 Greg Brown waived

18:30 GP2 controversy

35:22 A Blazer is dating Kendal Jenner

40:30 Mastise Thybull added at the trade deadline

44:15 Jusuf Nurkic and Nassir Little are still on the team

47:15 Kevin Knox? Will he or won’t he?

48:45 Josh Hart Press conference

54:00 Being excited about going to a new team is not the same as being excited to leave.

55:30 Additional tiers we didn’t get to

Make your own tiers!

56:45 Social Media players of the week

Damian Lillard:

Justise Winslow:

Honorable Mention to everyone who wished Ben McLemore happy birthday: Kelvin Blevins,  Anfernee Simons

Join us on Discord! It's a place where we can share our love for the Blazers, talk about games, and get to know other Blazer fans. Kind of like Twitter but it's not. There are different channels with different topics and you can join in where you want, and ignore the stuff you don't want to see. Give it a try! You can also still find us on Twitter: @wehaveatake, @tcbbiggs @roselharding

Do you sometimes pray for a Blazer victory? Do you value the community that being a Blazer fan brings? Have you ever felt euphoric after a Blazer game? We brought on Lindsay Strannigan (@LStrannigan) from the Holy Ghosting podcast to talk about it. This isn’t a talk about all religions or the history of religion in sports, it's a look at how we feel as fans and what we get out of it and how sometimes it feels like church.

Plus . . . how are we managing the approaching trade deadline, who do we think is most likely to be traded and great play by Trendon Watford. All this plus our takes and Social Media Player of the Week!

1:00 Icebreaker: It's Sunday Morning, what did you do on Sunday Mornings when you grew up?

5:30 Getting to know Lindsay - grew up with the Kings, loved Patrick Ewing from the Dream Team, was an anti-Laker fans living in LA, comparing Miami Heat reproductive stories.

16:00 Ways that being a sports fan is like religion, community and sense of belonging

21:30 Sports towns and church towns.

22:30 Fear of missing out of Young Life and Campus Crusade for Christ

25:00 Euphoric sports moments - is this worship?

26:30 Praying for the team?

29:15 Community good works

35:00 Understanding other fans help us understand ourselves, including other sports

38:15 Rituals we go through together

43:00 Is your fan group recruiting and indoctrinating

44:55 Looming trade deadline

47:30 Chandler Parsons interlude

52:40 International players being traded

53:30 How we feel about the possibility of Jusuf Nurkic being traded

57:40 Social Media Player of the Week

1:03:00 Takes: Jusuf Nurkic will not be here after the trade deadline 🙁

1:06:45 Zach might be a good Bachelor

1:08:00 Nassir Little Highly likely to be traded

Music by Erik Peterson! @ShoozumOops on Twitter.

Join us on Discord! It's a place where we can share our love for the Blazers, talk about games, and get to know other Blazer fans. Kind of like Twitter but it's not. There are different channels with different topics and you can join in where you want, and ignore the stuff you don't want to see. Give it a try! You can also still find us on Twitter: @wehaveatake, @tcbbiggs @roselharding

Someday the WHAT Awards are going to be the most talked about topic in the locker room. In the mean time they're the topic of this podcast! Tara and Rose check in about half way through the season to discuss their early season favorites for these coveted awards. Which assistant coaches are making an impression? Which budding friendships are appearing on and off the court? All this plus social media player of the week, our latest takes and so much more!

Icebreaker: Raptors fans in the building, and give Portland an All Star Game!

8:00 Mid season awards update

9:15 Bench Celebrator Man of the Year, discussed: Drew Eubanks, horseplay, Zach Collins, bench rotations impact on celebrations

14:15 Assistant Coach of the Year, discussed: Rodney Billups, Roy Rogers, Blazers being 23rd in defense, Blazer’s size, guard-rich, forward-poor, encumbered by height and length deficit, Steve Hetzel, coach gets a technical! Trendon Watford,

26:30 Best Accessorizer, discussed: Jerami Grant, League Fit’s All Star Team, Jusuf Nurkic, Drew Eubanks, Shaedon Sharpe, Keon Johnson, trade season, sports fan fiction,

36:00 Best Friendsship, Uncle Nurk, Nassir Little and Anfernee Simons, Gary Payton and Shaedon Sharpe, Shaedon new hairstyl, mic’d up Nas

45:30 Most Valuable Mentor, discussed: Gary Payton, Nassir Little, Damian Lillard,

47:15 Return of MVP? Drew Eubanks, Keon Johnson, Josh Hart, Jerami Grant

Social Media Player of the Week

51:00 Social Media player of the week:

Keon Johnson, 2 TikTok posts (cutting his own hair, thrifting)

Damian Lillard (Dame Jr tapping his wrist)

Music by Erik Peterson! @ShoozumOops on Twitter.

Join us on Discord! It's a place where we can share our love for the Blazers, talk about games, and get to know other Blazer fans. Kind of like Twitter but it's not. There are different channels with different topics and you can join in where you want, and ignore the stuff you don't want to see. Give it a try! You can also still find us on Twitter: @wehaveatake, @tcbbiggs @roselharding

Every player takes a different path the the NBA, even players who grow up with famous NBA player dads. Today we learn about Gary Payton 2's journey to the NBA, obstacles he overcame and the perseverance to keep going.  We also try to figure out which Harry Potter house he'd be in. Plus, Bill Schonely memories, and a dramatic Wikipedia reading.

We're throwing so much love to the Blazers organization, especially Blazer Broadcasting who lost both The Schonz and long time colleague, cameraman John Curry this week. Our hearts and thoughts are with their family and friends. 

Rip City, Baby!

1:00 Icebreaker: Schonely

9:30 His impact and legacy

12:00 Excerpt from Bill Schonely’s WIkipedia article 

14:00 Cameraman John Curry

16:30 Get 2 know GP2 not Jr

17:00 Parents Gary Payton and Monique James

20:45 There is a Gary Payton Jr who has a different mom

22:45 Sonics connections and hanging out with the mascot

24:30 Hometowns: Seattle, Las Vegas and Oakland

26:15 Took a while to throw himself into pursuing basketball, wound up in OSU. Gary Payton II creating legacy all his own with Oregon State Beavers

30:15 OSU days

31:30 Goes undrafted

33:30 Gary and Gary on Gary and Gary dream

34:15 Ready to apply for a job in the Warrior’s video department. How a lifelong struggle paved the way for Gary Payton II's success with the Golden State Warriors

37:30 So many differences between the careers of Gary Payton and Gary Payton 2.

40:00 Dyslexia and the NBA Cares award. A letter from mom: Gary Payton II wins NBA community service award

43:15 GPII Foundation Gary Payton II named winner of new Bob Lanier Community Assist Award | NBA.com

44:45 What Hogwarts house is Gary? We guess he’s a Hufflepuff.

48:15 Trash talking, what kind of trash talking does GP2 do?

51:00 Different paths of Gary Payton 2 and Shaedon Sharpe

55:00 Social Media player of the week:

1:09:00 This week’s takes

Music by Erik Peterson! @ShoozumOops on Twitter.

Join us on Discord! It's a place where we can share our love for the Blazers, talk about games, and get to know other Blazer fans. Kind of like Twitter but it's not. There are different channels with different topics and you can join in where you want, and ignore the stuff you don't want to see. Give it a try! You can also still find us on Twitter: @wehaveatake, @tcbbiggs @roselharding

It's time for a deep dive on Shaedon Sharpe - untangling his mysterious journey to the NBA. Plus: Trail Blazers recent play, a Dame vs Luka fight (we do not condone violence), trash talking and Social Media Player Of The Week!

1:00 PDX Carpet we can’t quit you.

3:30 Icebreaker: Love to win or Hate to lose?

6:00 How we’re feeling about the team right now. Hesitating, turnovers, offense leaving them, but the defense hasn’t been the problem. Will the return of the bench save them?

15:30 Luka and the refs

18:30 Nurkic is motivated by positive reinforcement.

20:30 About Shaedon Sharpe

24:30 How he got to Kentucky and what happened while he was there.

33:30 What must have it been like for Shaedon to be in the middle of the speculation at Kentucky?

37:30 The system has a hole that needs to be filled for getting players from high school to college. Players and families have to rely on uncredentialed people who are more familiar with the process.

40:00 A discussion about how younger players learn in those critical years right before the NBA especially like Shaedon and Anfernee

45:00 Shaedon seems to be thriving

46:30 Other fun facts, favorites, vertical leaps, wrap up

57:30 Social Media player of the week: Jusuf Nurkic (for getting off social media), Josh Hart (again), Keon Johnson

Shaedon Sharpe references:

Shaedon almost played football/background on high school moves: Canada’s Shaedon Sharpe Is the NBA Draft’s Biggest Enigma

Shaedon deciding to skip playing at Kentucky: Why didn't Shaedon Sharpe play for Kentucky? How decision to skip college impacts NBA Draft lottery | Sporting News

Who is Dwayne Washington: Dwayne Washington, A Tale of Two Stories - KY Insider

What happened with Shaedon going to Kentucky: A behind-the-scenes look at Shaedon Sharpe's decision to turn pro - On3

Music by Erik Peterson! @ShoozumOops on Twitter.

Join us on Discord! Its a place where we can share our love for the Blazers, talk about games, and get to know other Blazer fans. Its kind of like Twitter but its not. There are different channels with different topics and you can join in where you want, and ignore the stuff you don't want to see. Give it a try! You can also still find us on Twitter: @wehaveatake, @tcbbiggs @roselharding

Tara is joined by her former co-host from the Blazer’s Edge podcast, Danny Marang (@dannymarang) , now of @DannyandDusty on 1080 the Fan and Jacked Ramasys (@JackedRamsays) podcast. Much of the talk is about what we know and don’t know about the coach, and what we know and mostly don’t know about the team. Some good stories sprinkled in, a puppy appearance and a healthy dose of dunk talk.

1:00 Life updates, puppy introductions and a new job.

5:08 What can we tell about the coach right now? Willingness to adjust rotations from game to game. Not sure if it's good but at least he’s willing. Stotts stuck with what works, Billups doesn’t know yet what works. Matches up well with Joe Cronin and his vision for the most part.

10:30 Why did the Blazers give someone with so little experience the biggest job?

13:20 Blazers are just missing everything. They are getting good shots but they are not going in. They are playing different roles than they are used to. Equal opportunity offense isn’t everyone’s comfort zone, doesn’t quite match the personnel.

19:00 Gary Payton II is downgraded to out and other injuries.

23:45 How long do they miss shots before we start to worry about it?

26:00 The goals of the team are to figure out who they are.

28:20 Increase in dunks, where are they all coming from?

33:00 Jusuf Nurkic making 3s, what kinds of things does this open up?

36:30 Passing leading to more turnovers - when do we worry and when do they get cleaned up? A deeper look at Damian Lillard’s passing profile.

44:00 Blazers working on communication at practice.

50:00 After Time Outs they are 12th in the league in points per possession - that has fallen off quite a bit in recent weeks.

54:30 Shaedon Sharpe observations - he has it - what “it” is is yet to be determined but it come from his athleticism.

59:00 Shaedon’s growth, including with interviews.

1:02:00 Adding the younger players to the rotation . . . slowly.

1:06:00 The shortest trade talk you will hear on any podcast.

Music by Erik Peterson! @ShoozumOops Twitter.

Join us on Discord! Its a place where we can share our love for the Blazers, talk about games, and get to know other Blazer fans. Its kind of like Twitter but its not. There are different channels with different topics and you can join in where you want, and ignore the stuff you don't want to see. Give it a try! You can also still find us on Twitter: @wehaveatake, @tcbbiggs @roselharding

On New Years day, Tara and Rose each share three things to remember and two things to forget about the Trail Blazers in 2022 and one thing to carry into 2023. WHAT a year it was!

1:00 Icebreaker with a side note of complaining about pop-ups on certain team apps.

7:00 Celebration of Damian Lillard taking over as top scorer in the franchise.

13:00 Tribute videos

18:30 Should we crowdfund a Cameo from Clyde for Damian?

19:00 Thoughts on the trophy presented to Damian for his accomplishments

22:00 We each chose three things to remember: Trading CJ, (24:15) CJ comes back, (27:30) the Barack Obama game, (29:20) Summer League Championship and Trendon Watford’s Finals MVP, (32:30) Small Ball Lineup to close out Sacramento Game, (33:15) Being in Sacramento for that game.

39:30 Two things to forget (39:45) Six game losing streak where they were outscored by 192 points. (40:30) Jusuf Nurkic throws a Pacer’s fan phone and is fined. (43:30) Blazers don’t get a second 1st round pick. (45:00) Everyone asking if Damian Lillard is going to stay in Portland.

47:30 What we want to take into the new year: Creativity and more dunks!

54:00 Making it to New Years above .500

55:00 Social Media Player of the Week: Congratulations Nassir Little! (Side note, congratulations to Keljin Blevins for his debut with his new team in Romania)

1:03:00 What is your take? It's good to not play on Christmas. And its time to keep driving, keep the car on the road and eventually the sun will come out.

Music by Erik Peterson! @ShoozumOops Twitter. 

Join us on Discord! Its a place where we can share our love for the Blazers, talk about games, and get to know other Blazer fans. Its kind of like Twitter but its not. There are different channels with different topics and you can join in where you want, and ignore the stuff you don't want to see. Give it a try! You can also still find us on Twitter: @wehaveatake, @tcbbiggs @roselharding

This week is all about celebrating Damian Lillard. On the eve of the game that Damian Lillard could become the Portland Trail Blazers’ leading scorer, Tara and Rose talk about the man who means so much to Rip City. How did he get here? What makes him so special? And how lucky are we to witness this milestone?

We have lots of stories and tons of sources you can check out in the list below. With someone as interesting as he is, with so many accolades, accomplishments and awards it was hard to narrow down our favorite Damian Lillard stories. So if we didn’t talk about YOUR favorite, let us know what we missed! Hit us up on twitter (@wehaveatake)  or in the discord server with your favorite memories of Damian Lillard’s career (so far).

All of this PLUS a really exciting Social Media Player of the Week (yes, it's Josh Hart!)

Thank you to Erik Peterson for our awesome new music! Find him on twitter at @shoozumoops.

Join us on Discord! It's a place where we can share our love for the Blazers, talk about games, and get to know other Blazer fans. Give it a try! You can also still find us on Twitter: @wehaveatake, @tcbbiggs @roselharding

Sources

Damian Lillard on the Playoffs, Music and Rookie Moment - Wingin’ it Podcast

The Blazers’ Damian Lillard reflects on building generational wealth - Andscape

[Breakaway] Command (Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard)

[Court-side moms] Damian Lillard's mom Gina Johnson

Damian Lillard Goes as Hard on the Mic as He Goes Down the Lane

Baller. Rapper. Underdog. Don't Sleep on Damian Lillard

Twyman- Stokes Teammate of the Year award 

‘I really bleed purple’: Damian Lillard’s full speech at Weber State Hall of Fame induction banquet | News, Sports, Jobs - Standard-Examiner

Why Damian Lillard Doesn’t Celebrate until its Over Conan O’Brian Show

Guard’s bond with NBA star - PressReader

How Portland fell in love with Damian Lillard in the age of NBA super teams

'If I don't nap, I feel it.' Taking regular naps might seem frivolous, even toddler-esque. But they're crucial in the NBA. – Chicago Tribune

Juan Toscano-Anderson on Dame: https://twitter.com/markhaynesnba/status/1464634012828196867

Dame wanted to wear “Oscar Grant” on his bubble jersey: https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard/status/1290109760662990850

Sean Highkin (@highkin) joins the podcast and we covered lots of ground! From pandemic memories all wrapped up in the NBA, the infamous press conference introducing the new coach, chasing down (maybe?) Kevin Durant at a local gym, and what it is like covering the Chicago Bulls vs the Portland Trail Blazers. All this and more!

2:00 Pandemic memories of the NBA

10:45 Sean’s basketball origin story

17:00 Storytelling and the storytelling void

19:15 Remembering the new coach’s introductory press conference.

29:00 All the other stuff Sean has to know about to cover the NBA

33:00 When Kevin Durant was maybe in Portland

39:00 Chicago Bulls vs Portland Trail Blazers beat

44:00 Rebuilding: both sides of the coin

46:00 GMs want to keep their jobs

54:00 The cleanup (from the past decade) will likely continue

56:00 What about this version of the team is real and will last?

Join us on Discord! Its a place where we can share our love for the Blazers, talk about games, and get to know other Blazer fans. Its kind of like Twitter but its not. There are different channels with different topics and you can join in where you want, and ignore the stuff you don't want to see. Give it a try! You can also still find us on Twitter: @wehaveatake, @tcbbiggs @roselharding

Tara and Rose are joined by Jamie Hudson (@JamieHudson_), Trail Blazers studio host and KOIN 6 sports anchor. We catch up with Jamie about doing the Trail Blazers studio show and then we look at early frontrunners for the WHAT 2023 Awards! Plus, Social Media Player of the Week, out latest takes and much more!

1:00 Ice Breaker - Do you ski and or snowboard?

4:00 Checking in with Jamie - Blazers hot start, so different from last season,

5:45 Putting the show together

9:00 Covering last year’s team vs covering this season

14:00 Adjustments, learning, how the young guys are growing.

19:00 Fast breaks lead by Josh Hart

21:00 Communication on defense

22:40 Gary Payton II, we’re ready to watch you play!

28:00 WHAT Award Quarter season check-in

29:30 Bench celebrator man of the year, front runners, Greg Brown III, Jabari Walker, Drew Eubanks

33:45 Assistant coach of the year: Jonah Herscu, Scottie Brooks

38:00 Most valuable mentor, Nassir Little, Damian Lillard, Gary Payton

41:30 Best accessorizer, Shaedon Sharpe, Jusuf Nurkic, Justise Winslow

43:30 Best friendsship. Anfernee and Nassir,

47:30 Social media player of the week

53:00 Our takes for the week

Join us on Discord! Its a place where we can share our love for the Blazers, talk about games, and get to know other Blazer fans. Its kind of like Twitter but its not. There are different channels with different topics and you can join in where you want, and ignore the stuff you don't want to see. Give it a try! You can also still find us on Twitter: @wehaveatake, @tcbbiggs @roselharding