Rebuilt Trail Blazers' time has come

PORTLAND — This team was built for this season.

Since coach Nate McMillan came south from Seattle in 2005 and Martell Webster was drafted that same season.

Since Brandon Roy was acquired in a draft-day trade a year later. And since Greg Oden was taken, over Kevin Durant, with the first pick in the next draft, the Portland Trail Blazers have been pointing toward 2009-10.

Every season since they finally stripped this team of all its high-priced dead wood and low-rent bad citizens, they have taken a measured series of small steps with their eyes on something big.

Now, in McMillan's fifth year, the patient process of rebuilding from the 21-win team of 2005-06, to a championship contender is done. Entering the franchise's 40th season, Portland is a team on the verge of greatness.

"Yeah, we are past the point of talking about rebuilding," McMillan said before Tuesday's season opener against Houston. "For me and the team, we want to take that next step. We have to show improvement, get back to the playoffs and go deeper this season."

McMillan and general manager Kevin Pritchard have built this team the right way. They have mixed and matched. They have avoided the temptation to fix the team quickly with high-profile, low-return free agents.

They've built through the draft. Five of the nine players in their every-game rotation came from the draft.

The exceptions — point guards Steve Blake and newcomer Andre Miller, shooting guard Rudy Fernandez, center Joel Pryzbilla — were smart pieces that fit Portland's puzzle. There were no impulse buys.

"The turnaround has happened," McMillan said. "And now this is Phase Two of the plan where we show improvement, growth and win ballgames. Talking about what you want to do, what you're going to do, well, the summer's over. It's time to play ball."

Will it take a Phase Three, another season, to win an NBA championship? Probably, but this team is good and worth the wait for their long-suffering fans.

"Phase Two is to win a lot of basketball games," McMillan said. "Maybe Phase Three is to win a championship. That's the ultimate goal. To win the championship in one of those phases."

As usual, the West is mined with contenders. The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, the Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs are the looming nightmares in this potentially dreamy season.

But nobody in basketball is deeper than Portland. Even with the loss of starting small forward Nicolas Batum, who suffered a torn labrum and could be out from three-to-five months, the Blazers are nine deep.

In fact the most serious question entering the season was, who would have the ball in his hands at the end of quarters and games? All-star Roy or veteran backup point guard Miller?

Batum's injury gives Seattle Prep's Webster, who missed all but one game last season with a stress fracture in his left foot, the best opportunity in his five NBA seasons. Webster started against the Rockets and scored 14 points.

"It's the same chance for Martell to slide in there at small forward this season that Martell's injury gave Batum last year," McMillan said.

Against Houston, the team that eliminated Portland in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, in front of a crowd that felt playoff-ready already, the Blazers' smothering defense created turnovers they converted into fast-break buckets.

The Blazers' playing style is the same as the franchise's rebuilding style. The team rarely hurries. It plays with a purpose, plays with brains and patience. And it shares the wealth.

With Webster the only starter on the floor, Portland opened the second quarter with an 11-0 run. Through three quarters, the deep Blazer bench outscored Houston's reserves 35-14 as Portland opened a 75-56 lead. That should be a recurring theme for the season.

Portland opened its 40th season with a 96-87 win over the Rockets. Phase Two was off and the Blazers were running.

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com.