Sabas’ decision took pressure off front office

By Kerry Eggers

The Portland Tribune, Aug 15, 2003, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Some realities about the Trail Blazers:

• Arvydas Sabonis knew at the end of last season that he wasn’t going to be back with Portland. His wife and four children stayed in Spain during the season. He saw them only sporadically and missed them terribly.

“It is difficult to move them over here again,” Sabonis told the Tribune after the Blazers’ Game 7 elimination in Dallas. “It’s not just one kid, it’s four. I’m going to have to think about it before I decide.”

In June, Sabonis was quoted in a Lithuanian newspaper as saying he wouldn’t return to the NBA. Chicago-based agent Herb Rudoy insisted that the 7-3 Lithuanian hadn’t made up his mind, but that may have been wishful thinking, given that Rudoy stood to lose about $300,000 in commission from his client’s $7 million salary.

• The new management team, President Steve Patterson and General Manager John Nash, were between a rock and a hard place. They had until today to guarantee Sabonis’ contract or release him on waivers. They knew that coach Maurice Cheeks wanted Sabonis back. A $7 million price tag for 15 minutes a night seemed hefty in the Blazers’ new austerity program, however. When Rudoy called Monday to say Sabonis had decided not to take his physical and wouldn’t be back, it took the onus off the Blazers.

Nash says Blazer coaches convinced him that Sabonis “is a real value to us. As we wrestled with the economics of it, I wasn’t sure what our decision could be. When Herb called, it was almost a relief that we didn’t have to make a tough decision. And, truthfully, it’s probably the best thing for all parties.” If Sabonis “had come back at less than 100 percent in terms of commitment,” he said, “it wouldn’t have been a good situation.”

Because of the clause in Sabonis’ contract that required Portland to either guarantee it or release him, the team does not carry Larry Bird rights for future trade purposes, Nash says.

• For a coach who professes to revere Sabonis as a player, Cheeks didn’t play him much. A big part of that was the advice of trainer Jay Jensen, who suggested that limiting Sabonis’ minutes would preserve his health. There’s truth to that, but there were times especially in the playoffs when Sabonis needed to be in the lineup. He made 24 of 36 shots in the Dallas series and simply could not be guarded, even by the great Shawn Bradley.

Sabonis will be missed and more than Patterson and Nash understand.

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