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| Adam Morrison is getting yet another NBA shot. (Getty Images) |
It wouldn't be a Portland Trail Blazers training camp without a major draft bust, now, would it?
Greg Oden may have moved on, but the Blazers are bringing in former No. 3 overall pick Adam Morrison on a make-good contract for the team's training camp.
Morrison, a two-time NBA champion*, has appeared in only 161 NBA games for the Charlotte Bobcats and Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 7.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
After leaving the Lakers in 2010, Morrison played professionally in Russia and Turkey. Morrison played for the Clippers' summer-league team this year in Las Vegas, averaging 20.0 points and 5.0 rebounds.
Morrison, 28, never found his footing in the league after being picked third by the Bobcats in 2006. Coming out of Gonzaga as a prolific college scorer and drawing comparisons to Larry Bird, Morrison was disappointing as a rookie and suffered a major knee injury his second season, quickly watching his NBA career dissolve. He struggled defensively, and while always maintaining an excellent outside touch, couldn't find the same scoring rhythm he had in college.
But he clearly hasn't just packed in his basketball career, and after an impressive summer with the Clippers, he has another NBA shot. The guy can play. His scoring in college, where he averaged 28.1 ppg in 2005-06, wasn't a fluke. He's just had trouble transitioning his game to the NBA.
Morrison actually has a reasonable shot at making the Blazers, though. With Elliot Williams being lost with an Achilles injury and the Blazers having only 15 players under contract, including Williams, there's a chance Morrison could make the team. After his solid showing with the Clippers, it was thought he'd have a chance at their roster, but the Clips ended those thoughts by signing Matt Barnes.
Morrison might be a major disappointment, but he's still trying to find his place in the NBA. And why not the Blazers? As a franchise with a history of huge draft disappointments, wouldn't it be something for one of the biggest ever to find redemption there?
