NBA portland Trail Blazers

Home sweet home. Well, for one night anyway. In front of a 42-inch big screen on opening night in the NBA. Let's go ahead and try to read too much into it ...

• You can't tell me the Cleveland Cavaliers aren't going to come knocking for Stephen Jackson at some point. Looks like LeBron James is going to need some more help.

Hard as this is to say, it doesn't seem like Shaquille O'Neal can even be your No. 2 option. Apparently, the Cavs are reluctant to give up Zydrunas Ilgauskas for Jackson because Cleveland doesn't want to get smaller.

Saturday is Halloween, but don't expect many NBA owners and general managers in this shaky economy to dress up as Bill Gates and throw money around.

Oct. 31 is the annual deadline for one-time first-round picks entering their fourth seasons to be eligible to sign extensions that would kick in for their fifth seasons. For stars, it's a chance to land their first really big contract.

But much is silent as the deadline approaches, meaning the overwhelming number of eligible players from the 2006 first round will become restricted free agents next summer. Three players from that draft -- Andrea Bargnani of Toronto and LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy of Portland -- have inked extensions, but not a lot more activity is expected.

The operative phrase here is "with plenty of time to spare."

The Blazers and LaMarcus Aldridge had been working on an extension, the second of the big two the Blazers needed to lock up to ensure stability in their young, contending core (the other being Brandon Roy). The two had until October 31st to get a deal done in order to avoid Aldridge becoming a restricted agent next summer.

There had been rumors that Aldridge was unhappy about how long it was taking, given the Blazers' hyper-eager approach to Roy's five-year, $80 million deal. With Oct. 31 just 10 days away, the clock was ticking. Both sides were confident a deal would get done, but you couldn't blame Blazers fans for getting nervous.

FanHouse previews all 30 NBA teams in advance of the 2009-10 season.

Kevin Pritchard has, amazingly, gone from "favorite NBA genius" to "evil, demented mastermind who garners shifty and angry eyes from people who root for other teams." I'm not sure when that happened -- I believe it was in his second consecutive year of draft-fleecing when people finally stood up and said, "ENOUGH!"

Of course, the Trailblazers are still beloved (again, I think) and are, without question, the pre-eminent NBA team on the rise -- even though that's probably a bit of a misnomer considering they won their division last year. Well, tied. I mean, they won, but I'm pretty sure everyone would take Denver > Portland in terms of performance coming down the stretch in 2009.

FanHouse previews a player to watch from each NBA team in advance of the 2009-10 season.

More than seven feet tall. A mountain of a man. A true big man for the modern age. Able to score, rebound, and defend in the post. Loved by teammates. Feared by opponents. The crucial down-low component that could help the Blazers contend for a championship.

I'm talking, of course, about Joel Przybilla.

Why, who were you thinking of?

Przybilla is the polar opposite of his younger replacement (as in, the guy he's being replaced by). No hype. Not flashy. Not heralded or swooned over. But when we start throwing out the phrases "effective" and "workman," Przybilla is as prime a candidate as any. The Vanilla Gorilla has not only done the work, put in the time, and become a very solid NBA center, but he's got the numbers to back it up.

Legend Bill Walton has been laid up for a couple years due to serious back issues, which has not only deprived us NBA fans of absurd superlative commentary on ESPN broadcasts, but more important has prevented Walton from getting around much. But a surgery has helped out, and Walton is on his feet. It's only appropriate that those feet -- once cursed -- have taken Walton to Portland.

Walton left Portland in 1979 in truly ugly fashion, as expertly documented in David Halberstam's The Breaks of the Game. Walton, who suffered a foot injury which denied the Blazers an opportunity for a repeat championship in 1978 and destroyed his career, accused Portland doctors and staff of malpractice on his way out, suing close friends in the process.

And now, he tells Portland he's sorry.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been on camera a lot in his life: from the basketball court on over to the Airplane movies, he's not camera shy. Of course, despite his talents and high standing on the hardwood, he typically plays a "less than brilliant" character in other genres of "film." Perhaps this clip from Jeopardy, via In Game Now, explains why that is. Or perhaps it just points to his ego. Or id. Or whatever.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

The Portland Trail Blazers are one of the most exciting teams in the NBA. They are more than ready to make a splash this upcoming season. In this FanHouse exclusive, we talk to Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez, Nicolas Batum and Jarron Collins to see how training camp is going.

Check out the video after the jump.

Even skeptics chalked up Portland's Andre Miller acquisition as a win. Miller, one of the best distributors of this decade, figured to augment an already lethal Blazers offense while providing a jolt of veteran leadership. Even if you don't believe in the power of savvy, Miller's passing skills sit on a different plane than those of Steve Blake, the incumbent.

What Portland probably didn't count on was Miller causing drama ... in the preseason. Blazers coach Nate McMillan has been insisting Blake is the starter for now. But Miller told Yahoo!'s Marc Spears that coming off the bench wasn't a part of the deal when he signed with Portland. And we have a problem.