Things are looking good for the Portland Trailblazers. Led by youngsters Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Greg Oden, the Blazers are truly one of the most talented teams in the NBA Most people would agree that this up-and-coming ball club could win a championship or two in the near future.But things in Portland haven’t always been so peachy.

A few years ago, the Trailblazers went through the darkest period in the history of their franchise. This period was called the “JailBlazers” era. Those were the days when the roster was filled with players who constantly made headlines for the wrong reasons. The JailBlazers era began in April 2001 when Shawn Kemp ended his first season with the team by checking into a drug rehabilitation center for cocaine abuse.

In May 2002, Zach Randolph was cited for underage drinking in his hometown of Marion, Indiana. During November 2002 three controversial Blazers’ players (Rasheed Wallace, Damon Stoudamire, and Ruben Patterson) were in the news.

Rasheed Wallace and Damon Stoudamire were cited for misdemeanor marijuana possession after their car was stopped on the way home from a game in Seattle. Both players agreed to attend drug counseling and stay out of legal trouble for a certain amount of time in exchange for having charges dropped against them.

Ruben Patterson was arrested on felony domestic abuse charges against his wife. The charges were later dropped. Four months later, rookie forward Qyntel Woods was cited for speeding, driving without insurance or a driver’s license, and of course, marijuana possession.

In April 2003, Randolph punched Patterson in the face during practice breaking his eye socket. Ouch, that must have been a pretty hard punch. Maybe Patterson’s wife had paid Randolph to do it. Just kidding!

Anyway, during the 2004-05 season, Woods pleaded guilty to misdemeanor animal abuse. I guess Michael Vick wasn’t the first athlete linked to dog fighting. And head coach Maurice Cheeks was later fired after being cussed out by both Bonzi Wells (in 2003) and Darius Miles (in 2005).

I left out several events that occurred during that forgettable era simply because I didn’t want this article to be 30 pages long.

My advice to all NBA general managers: Don’t build a team with a bunch of dysfunctional players, it will never work.

- John A. Roberts

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Tags | Basketball, Damon Stoudamire, Maurice Cheeks, NBA, Portlan trailblazers, Portland jailblazers, Rasheed Wallace, Ruben Patterson, Shawn Kemp, Zach Randolph