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Last night Marcus Camby got a phone call during dinner. Instead of it being a telemarketer, it was GM Kevin Pritchard breaking the news to the 14-year vet that he was now a Portland Trail Blazer. Evidently, at least according to this report, Camby was not happy with the news and left Ringside (where he was dining with the rest of the Los Angeles Clippers) mid-meal.

Wasted steak and hurt feelings aside, trading Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw (and possibly some cash) for Camby is a big deal for Portland. All involved parties have expiring contracts, meaning that no player is obligated to stay with their new team after the season ends in a few months. That means Outlaw will test the free-agent market and might return next year, while Blake, um, well, it was nice knowing you.

But this is about Camby. What he offers the injury-depleted Blazers is rebounds, rebounds, rebounds, and more rebounds. He’s ranked second in the NBA (behind superstar Dwight Howard) in boards, and will provide the stopgap this team needs under the basket. He’s also sixth in the league in blocks (nearly two a game), and while his game is far from flashy, Camby brings the no-frills reliability the Blazers so desperately crave.

Also, it should be noted, he is a great role model for Greg Oden. Earlier in his career Camby was Oden (with the exception of the dong photos). After back-to-back seasons where he was only healthy enough to play in 35% of his team’s games, Camby was written-off as an injury-prone liability. Since that time, he’s escaped that tag and is now known as one of the premier defensive players in the league.

Also, are there are any Blogtown readers that also happen to work at Ringside? Can you let us know the fate of Camby’s half-eaten steak?

Ezra Ace Caraeff is the former Music Editor for the Mercury, and spent nearly a third of his life working at the paper. More importantly, he is the owner of Olive, the Mercury’s unofficial office dog....

10 replies on “Getting to Know Marcus Camby”

  2. This news does not pump me up. But I’m sure I could be persuaded to get pumped, because I’m pretty impressionable.

    At any rate, mid-season trades are sucky.

  4. The trade is just a safe, temporary rental. Outlaw, Blake, and Camby are all in the last year of their contracts, and none of the three would be re-signed by the Blazers for next season anyway (or at least they shouldn’t be), so the only question is: who would you rather have for the next four months? Given the Oden and Przybilla injuries, I’d rather have Camby for the rest of this season, and then get his salary off the books (just as they would’ve done with Blake and Outlaw).

  5. I wonder if many Clippers fans remember that game from last season where Blake missed five free throws against them in the last 2 minutes.

    I’ll miss Blake. Jack Acid, personally, for the rest of the season I would rather have Blake in, plus Roy, and Howard (and Cunningham). I think Roy coming back will add cohesion to the team, and ramp up their consistency.

  6. You’re putting a lot of faith in Roy’s coming back. I have little as of late. What was initially a minor injury has now stemmed into a five-week hiatus from his job.

    P.S. No Roy tonight. It’s getting to be time that we learn to win without him.

  7. It’s more like hope, not faith. And damn, I was listening to the radio this morning as I woke up and I thought they said he was playing tonight (although he mentioned he was still injured, but was going to start playing anyway. Something like that… I was half-asleep).

    We have learned to win without him. But I don’t think he’s going to be gone forever. So I haven’t lost faith that he’s going to come back, is what I’m saying…

  9. Well,we need this guy now to make a run in the playoffs. Blake had outlived his time here.I’m sure the emergence of Dante Cunningham had something to do with Trav leaving.IMO, Dante’s a no mistake version of Trav who plays better D.Don’t discount the fact that Dre and Camby have played together,too.Plus, we might even keep him depending on how Joel and Greg do.Hope to see Patty more, too.

  10. I think that Jerryd Bayless had everything to do with Blake’s departure. Bayless proved himself at the point quickly and its too bad it took so many injuries for him to get the chance. Blakey was awesome against some of the best point guards in the league and I’m sorry to see him go, but damn we needed help on the inside.

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