Post by Majic on Oct 19, 2018 17:52:46 GMT
Portland, Oregon:
It has been a long and winding 6 years, but RJ Cole is back where it all started and he truly feels like home.
Cole has spent the last 5 years working his game, going from a nice depth player to a budding superstar and one of the top PG's in Sim League. Over those 5 years he never forgot about the organization that took a chance on him and how it changed his life forever.
"I really came from nothing, coming into the Expansion Draft I was told I could do to a number of different teams. But round after round I saw my dream slipping away and worried I would never get a shot. Then I got that call from GM Majic and he gave me the good news, I was going to be a Portland Trailblazer" said RJ.
The first couple years in the league did not quite go as RJ expected, but he never gave up hope. Coming into his rookie year the Trailblazers gave him the keys to the offense.
"Honestly it was a huge responsibility and I was a bit overwhelmed by it all. I was afraid to take my shot, or take control in the moments it mattered" RJ Explained.
After his 2nd year in the league the Blazers decided to promote their G League star and moved on from RJ. While it took some time to get over, he says the Blazers organization handled it with class.
"They were honest with me, told me exactly what parts of my game I needed to work on. They said it wouldnt be fair to my development to play behind Turner. I moved on and took their words to heart. It changed everything for me."
From there RJ dealt with a struggling year in Minnesota before his fortunes changed forever. He spent that entire offseason in the gym. Doing everything he could to get better. He used the list of impovements given to him by the Blazers and relied on it to guide him.
That next season, after having been given a last chance by the Toronto Raptors did it all click for RJ.
And now, here we are back where it all started. The Blazers completed a trade with the Chicago Bulls to acquire RJ for what could be the final piece to a championship team.
Majic, the GM of the Blazers explained "We truly believe that RJ could be the final, and most important piece to this rebuild. We have a strong core and all we needed was the man to run it. We feel lucky to bring in a player like RJ, but more importantly to have him back around"
Only time will tell if this story has a happy ending, but I know almost everyone around the PNW is excited about what might be.
It has been a long and winding 6 years, but RJ Cole is back where it all started and he truly feels like home.
Cole has spent the last 5 years working his game, going from a nice depth player to a budding superstar and one of the top PG's in Sim League. Over those 5 years he never forgot about the organization that took a chance on him and how it changed his life forever.
"I really came from nothing, coming into the Expansion Draft I was told I could do to a number of different teams. But round after round I saw my dream slipping away and worried I would never get a shot. Then I got that call from GM Majic and he gave me the good news, I was going to be a Portland Trailblazer" said RJ.
The first couple years in the league did not quite go as RJ expected, but he never gave up hope. Coming into his rookie year the Trailblazers gave him the keys to the offense.
"Honestly it was a huge responsibility and I was a bit overwhelmed by it all. I was afraid to take my shot, or take control in the moments it mattered" RJ Explained.
After his 2nd year in the league the Blazers decided to promote their G League star and moved on from RJ. While it took some time to get over, he says the Blazers organization handled it with class.
"They were honest with me, told me exactly what parts of my game I needed to work on. They said it wouldnt be fair to my development to play behind Turner. I moved on and took their words to heart. It changed everything for me."
From there RJ dealt with a struggling year in Minnesota before his fortunes changed forever. He spent that entire offseason in the gym. Doing everything he could to get better. He used the list of impovements given to him by the Blazers and relied on it to guide him.
That next season, after having been given a last chance by the Toronto Raptors did it all click for RJ.
And now, here we are back where it all started. The Blazers completed a trade with the Chicago Bulls to acquire RJ for what could be the final piece to a championship team.
Majic, the GM of the Blazers explained "We truly believe that RJ could be the final, and most important piece to this rebuild. We have a strong core and all we needed was the man to run it. We feel lucky to bring in a player like RJ, but more importantly to have him back around"
Only time will tell if this story has a happy ending, but I know almost everyone around the PNW is excited about what might be.