Brandon Roy, the Oregon hero from Washington

Brandon Roy is making an impact this season for the Portland Trail Blazers, and nobody could be happier than the folks in Portland. Last night, after Gilbert Arenas promised 50, it was Roy who had 6 down-the-stretch points that provided the Blazers with another win over the Washington Wizards.

Roy is quickly becoming a franchise player, and a building block to what could become a nice three-some in P-Town. LaMarcus Alderidge, Sergio Rodriguez and Roy represent the change in direction that Portland has sorely needed over the past decade. As we all know the Blazers recent struggles on and off the court, these three of played the Blazers back into significance. Many were outraged last summer after Portland acquired LaMarcus Alderidge (traded the rights to Tyrus Thomas to the Chicago Bulls) and Brandon Roy (traded the rights to Randy Foye, Roy for Foye, to the Minnesota Timberwolves), instead of selecting the mustache, and Adam Morrison. Well, two thumbs up to the Blazers for not firing that bullet. Morrison has struggled, like many non-athletic white kids have after leaving college.

Roy, Alderidge, and Rodriguez are quickly finding love on basketball blogs all over the country. One of the major blogs, Truehoops.com (which significantly made its soft launch onto ESPN.com today, which means it will start to suck in a matter of months once Disney executives warn Henry Abbott, the Creator of Truehoops.com about language, family audiences, and graphic images, ala Bill Simmons, who I still find interesting, but after reading his earlier stuff, is not as edgy as he once was. Is it Disney, or does blogging about sports just become monotonous after awhile?) have been praising the quality of play that these three are showing in Portland. Roy, who most likely will win Rookie of the Year (if Alderidge doesn't come from behind), has been celebrated for his ability to pass, shoot, his coolness in crunch-time and his ability beat people off the dribble. They have become so big, that many of the Blazer highlights from each game are making their way to Youtube.com.

Roy is becoming Portland's first son, much like Clyde Drexler did in the mid-80's and early 90's (though rumors were that Drexler was a closet-asshole). Roy has the chance to become a superstar on a team that has been searching for a general to guide a floundering team back into the playoffs. Right now, Portland is 4 games back of the L.A. Clippers for the 8th and final playoff spot in the West.

If Portland does not make the playoffs, do you see Portland trading Zach Randolph and Portland's first round pick and moving up in the draft to potentially steal a top-5 pick, or would managers across the league risk not taking a player in this draft for a player of Randolph's suspect character-image problems? Could you imagine this team with an Oden, Durant, Noah, Wright(s) or Hawes? Scary thought...