Blazers Training Camp Day 3: Notes From Santa Barbara
Observations and notes on an off day in Southern California
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — This week of Trail Blazers practices is the first time a team I've covered has done the out-of-town training camp thing, and it's always interesting when a team uses a college campus for a practice gym.
In my previous role as a national NBA writer for Bleacher Report, I spent a lot of time going to visiting-team practices and shootarounds when they came through Portland, and many of them would use the rec center at Portland State or University of Portland. It was always entertaining to me to hang out in the lobby waiting for PR to call us in for media availability, and watching college students come in and out with no idea that Stephen Curry is 50 feet away from them in the basketball gym.
The Blazers' first day of practices at UCSB on Tuesday was pretty low-key without a lot of fanfare. But word started to get out, and as the team was leaving the gym following Wednesday's practice, there were a couple dozen students lining up for pictures and autographs, which most of the players were happy to do as they headed to the bus back to the hotel. Being around these guys all the time doing this job, it's easy for me to get desensitized to how cool that has to be for these kids to see an NBA team on their campus and get to meet these guys.
The Blazers didn't practice today. They have two more days down here before traveling to Seattle for Monday's preseason opener against the Clippers. I'm out tomorrow late afternoon, so I'll miss their final practice in Santa Barbara on Saturday. But I'll be there tomorrow before my flight, so there will be one more fresh practice update here for subscribers on this trip.
The Blazers didn't practice today. They have two more days down here before traveling to Seattle for Monday's preseason opener against the Clippers. I'm out tomorrow late afternoon, so I'll miss their final practice in Santa Barbara on Saturday. But I'll be there tomorrow before my flight, so there will be one more fresh practice update here for subscribers on this trip.
I also plan on making the drive up to Seattle on Monday for that preseason game, which will be just the second time an NBA game has been played there since the Sonics left for Oklahoma City in 2008. It's not going to happen for a few years, but it's an open secret around the league that plans are already in the works for Seattle and Las Vegas to get expansion teams, likely after the new media-rights deal kicks in in 2025. So the I-5 rivalry will be back sooner than later.
Since there's no new media availability today, I figure it's a good opportunity to put together a few notes from the early days of camp that I haven't touched on yet.
Media isn't allowed to watch the actual practices so I can't speak to it directly, but the rave reviews of Shaedon Sharpe from those who have seen him this week have been universal.
With Anfernee Simons signing a $100 million contract this summer and entering the season with a starting role and a lot more responsibility, I asked him yesterday whether there was a moment over the past year when he felt like he transitioned from being one of "the young guys" to one of the vets. He said: ​​"It was when I started playing with a whole bunch of guys that are younger than me. They were figuring out their way, and I was somewhat figuring out my way as well, but I understood where they were trying to get. So I found myself trying to mentor them more. … I'm one of the few guys who have been here for a while. So I'm naturally telling people where to go, where to be. After last year, I'm in more of a leadership role."
Simons on what he learned on and off the court from the expanded role he took on as last season went sideways: "On the court, I saw everything come together. Being successful in multiple games, showing what I could do. Realizing the potential that I had. So it was kind of a blessing in disguise, being in that situation. And then off the court, I carry myself the same way. When I had success, I didn't have success, I wasn't playing, I was playing. Everything just kind of came together on the court."
For as much praise as Sharpe has drawn so far, Chauncey Billups admitted that both he and the Blazers' other rookie, Jabari Walker, have had some growing pains in their first NBA practices. "They looked like rookies," he said. "It's a lot to take on. Every single thing is new for them. Every coverage that we have, every concept, it's all new. So they're going to be a step slow. But that's a part of the process."
I haven't had a ton of time to explore the restaurants my followers sent my way last week when I put out a call for recommendations, but I had some great Mexican food for dinner last night at Carlito's Cafe y Cantina in downtown Santa Barbara, and Handlebar Coffee Roasters has been a great place to get work done during the day. I also found a cool Mexican pastry shop called La Bella Rosa that I would highly recommend.