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The Portland Trail Blazers have three obvious candidates for Clyde Drexler, Damian Lillard and Bill Walton, not in that order. Lillard breaking Drexler’s all-time franchise scoring record is sparking a heated debate between the two. Walton has always been in the mix because of the 1977 NBA championship.

As today’s Blazer’s Edge Mailbag submission suggests, however, three players don’t exactly fill the bill. No matter what order the three men put in, part of the question went unanswered. So…

Who would you put on the Blazers Rushmore of history? Given the talent and influence, I’d say Dame, Walton, Drexler and ? Roy. There could be many arguments for #5, but there are only four presidents on Rushmore.

Tom

Ah yes. That fourth player is going to pick you up. There is almost universal agreement on three, each defining an era. Your fourth generation is about to reveal who they think they are.

Brandon Roy is not a bad choice. He described the era he was in. It was very short due to injuries. If he played more than three years and Greg Oden was productive and healthy – the formation would already be working. Although neither of these things happened. If we were just looking at raw talent, I could see Roy being up there. But in terms of raw talent, you have to consider other players as well.

Some of the second-generation players also spark discussion. Maurice Lucas and Terry Porter immediately come to mind. Each of them will have lawyers.

But for me, if he defines a successful era, I’ll go with a player whose longevity and talent should be included. That’s Rasheed Wallace. He averaged 19 rebounds twice a game, rebounded decently, passed, played defense and nearly reached the NBA Finals in 2000 during an era that led the Blazers to two conference finals. This is better than what they did during Lillard’s tenure. Damm is clearly the better scorer.

That’s my Trail Blazers Mt. It’s the fourth on Rushmore. Who is yours? Share in the comments below.

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