Trail Blazers Owner Paul Allen yesterday after the team's first practice of the '15-16 season "spoke to reporters for roughly seven minutes" on a wide range of issues related to the the team, according to Joe Freeman of the Portland OREGONIAN. Allen said of losing F LaMarcus Aldridge to the Spurs in free agency, "It's tough for a franchise, because we were all thinking that we had a real shot at getting him back. But in the end, he chose to go a different direction and now it's a new day. We've moved on and I think you can feel the excitement and the energy in the gym now." In describing the state of the team's roster, he said, "Rebuild. Retool. We're bringing, I think, six players back from last year's playoff roster, so that's a big transition. That's nine new players. So, yeah, it's definitely a transition." But he added, "I probably, more than a lot of owners, enjoy seeing young players develop. Always have. Always will." Allen added he is "not worried" about the possibility of fans not sharing his enthusiasm for the roster overhaul. He said Trail Blazers fans will embrace players that "have talent, show they care [and] try to play together." Meanwhile, Allen said he is "not going to try to predict" whether the NBA will negotiate a new CBA before another work stoppage ensues. Allen: "That is so hard to predict and I'm sure if I did predict it, I'd get fined" (Portland OREGONIAN, 9/30).
