Blazers Camp Breeds Ambition
Webster and Roy See Different Goals But Seek Same Answers
Daniel Saez's rebounding speciality should help with Portland's rebounding woes
Enrique Dickey took a more balanced approach to his drills
Sunday, October 15, 2006
With the youth movement in full swing and a rebuilding process that might consider shipping away marquee players Zach Randolph and Darius Miles, the Portland Trailblazers must rely on two young swingmen to insure their success. Both Martell Webster and Brandon Roy are two home-town favourites that hail from Seattle, Washington, but both players are entering training camp with different motivations and ambitions.
Coming into the NBA as the sixth overall pick of the 2006 draft, Brandon Roy seems to fit the exact criteria that Portland desperately needs: A crafty scorer that can help the team in multiple facets of the game while also lending a well-voiced presence in the locker room and providing a respectful, laid-back personality to a team that has well-documented chemistry issues and a tarnished reputation that will take some time to repair.
Martell Webster was also drafted sixth, but in the draft a year before. Despite a somewhat sluggish rookie campaign, many Blazer fans still have hope for the 19 year old who came out of high school; many have claimed that Webster had problems adjusting to the daily hardships of being a professional athlete like many other young players do. People feel that if Webster is able to gain more confidence on the court, positive results will follow for the Portland basketball franchise.
However, there are doubters for both players. With basketball analysts claiming Roy to be the most NBA-ready player in a draft with not as much star power in previous drafts, many look to Roy with overbearing hype as the new leader of the team without even logging a minute on to an official NBA court. Even more pressure is added to contribute right away when star players Zach Randolph and Darius Miles seem to have worn out their welcomes in Portland and might be headed to a different team.
Webster has also been criticized for his poor rookie season play and being outplayed by more experienced and NBA-ready players such as Danny Granger or Channing Frye who were drafted below Webster. Another heavily criticized part of Webster's game was his shooting, which according to many scouts was Webster's strength, was almost non-existant during his first NBA season as he shot a streaky 39% from the field. Many pessimists also feel that if Webster's shooting touch does not improve, than his average athleticism is unable to compsensate for his ineffective shooting, making him a waste of a pick since he was drafted so high.
One must wonder what this can do to a man's confidence, but Roy simply realizes that he must let his game do the talking. "I don't know if I'm going to play well or play badly this season, that's up to me find out," says Roy. He later adds in his typical swagger-filled but not overconfident manner, "Many people say that I can't do this or that, but when it comes down to it I'm going to give it my all and I'm going to do my best to become an active leader on the team." Webster also thinks the time to prove that he is worth the investment of a lottery pick and step up his leadership role is now.
"Last year was a learning experience," said Webster. "I worked very hard and I learned a lot last year by picking up a lot of things that I didn't know about in high school. Now I'm hoping to become more vocal and try to work on my game even more to take it to another level."
"Heck, I'm glad my rookie season's over with," Webster later adds with a smirk on his face as he points to Brandon Roy, who is carrying the team's luggage. "Being a rookie and coming out of high school last year, the team really looked to me as the little kid on the team. Now that I'm a sophomore, I get to order the new guys around that are older than me."
Brandon Roy is hoping to adjust to the rigors of the NBA while Webster needs to show that there is more to his game.