[Oregonian]Anderson wonders if it's time to leave

This report will answer some of your questions from the Mo.T and DA trade thread!!


http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1107521823244970.xml

Anderson wonders if it's time to leave
The Trail Blazers guard, still dealing with medical problems, says his work ethic has been unfairly questioned by the team
Friday, February 04, 2005
JASON QUICK
WEST LINN -- He was once a beacon light for the Trail Blazers -- the solid character, the team captain, the glue to help hold a fraying franchise together.

But as Derek Anderson draws the shades Thursday at his West Linn apartment, keeping out a light that exacerbates his intense headaches, he unconsciously creates the ultimate symbolism of where he stands today with the Blazers: in the dark.

"Lost," Anderson says. "I feel like I'm lost in the shuffle somewhere. Like I'm lost in this whole organization."

The issue at hand is simple: the Blazers -- from management on down -- are questioning Anderson's work ethic and toughness, an accusation that infuriates Anderson so much he wonders if it's time to part ways.

"Maybe I'm not fit for this anymore, this situation," Anderson said. "The way things are going, I'm not. It might be time for me to leave."

The situation started going downhill on Jan. 10, when mired in an inconsistent season of shooting, Anderson was stripped of his starting shooting guard spot. In the next seven games, as coach Maurice Cheeks questioned Anderson's effort, he averaged 5.8 points while playing an average of 16.2 minutes, culminating with a six-minute performance Jan. 22 at home against Minnesota.

Then, Anderson's problems doubled when a series of intense migraine headaches resulted in a flurry of medical procedures. In the past two weeks, Anderson has had two root canals (with a third scheduled for today), a CT Scan, two nights in a Vancouver hospital to receive intravenous fluids, a discovery of a cyst under his left nostril, and the diagnosis of a sinus infection.

Anderson said he has lost 10 to 12 pounds in the past two weeks, and if it weren't for the prescription drugs -- which crowd his kitchen counter -- he probably would be losing sleep thinking about his suddenly sour situation with the Blazers.

But even as people scoff at his latest injury -- "dental pain" as it was released by the team -- and in the face of Cheeks' direct challenge for Anderson to show him "sweat" on the court, Anderson says he will return the same player, like it or not.

"I'm not changing. I'm not changing," Anderson said. "And that's what they want me to say, that 'Yeah, I'm going to do something different.' That means I wasn't doing anything, that I was holding back. But I have never held back, and I don't plan on holding back."

Although he won't say it, Anderson appears frustrated with the team's marked offensive success since he was taken out of the lineup, in particular the emergence of Nick Van Exel and Damon Stoudamire as a backcourt tandem.

As he talks, he often adds emphasis by slamming the folding card table that serves as his dining room table.

"Now that the offense is back to being guard-oriented, to where Nick and Damon are playing well, and everybody is asking 'why are they playing well together?' Well, me and Damon did that last year," Anderson said. "That's because we just played. (Cheeks) gave us an opportunity to do that, to just play. . . .

"Maurice said last year that he wished he had that group for the entire season . . . well he got it this year, and what did they do? They took Darius out and put Shareef in there. For no reason, except their reasons. And when they do that, and it doesn't work, it's on them, not the players."

Anderson argues that when he was a starter, the offense was still a stagnated mess, predicated on dumping the ball into the post, and if a pass did come out, it usually forced the guards to hoist up quick shots.

"And now you are taking me out of the lineup and playing me 13, 14 minutes and you are asking me to sweat?" Anderson said. "I said I have been trying to sweat, I've been passing the ball, I've been doing everything I possibly can. And I haven't complained, I haven't cussed (Cheeks) out, I haven't disrespected him, I haven't disrespected the organization, I have never been late except for one time in four years . . . and now for them to come at me like I have done something bad? I don't feel comfortable with that. So that's why I told them -- I want to be here if they want me here. . . ."

"But if I'm not what you guys like or want, then make a business decision. Don't keep people you don't want to play. You are paying me this money ($8.4 million this season, $9.1 million next season, $9.7 million in 2006), but you are playing me 13 minutes, six minutes. . . ."

If there is a word that irks Anderson more than anything, it's the word "soft."

Since he has been in Portland in 2001, he has battled an image of being injury-prone and unable to withstand pain. He missed nearly all of the 2003 playoff series against Dallas with a torn meniscus in his left knee suffered in Game 2, which required offseason surgery.

Then last season, he missed 31 games because of a bulging disc in his back, which had many questioning whether it was really an injury or Anderson just pouting because he lost the starting job to Bonzi Wells.

That was one of the igniting moments of a clash between Cheeks and Anderson in a 2003 practice, when Cheeks basically accused Anderson of faking his injury and being soft. Cheeks has since apologized, and Anderson accepted.

Now, Anderson's second most despised word is "sweat." Cheeks used that word to motivate Anderson into working harder after he was taken out of the lineup. Cheeks said he felt Anderson was taking his starting role for granted.

"I think sometimes we give a guy a spot," Cheeks said. "And with D.A. I think what happened is he knew he was our two guard. He didn't have to go out there and bust ass to defend to get his job. But now, he's got to show me something. That's all, just show me something. That doesn't necessarily mean he has to score 25 points.

"So I told him: 'I want to see you sweat.' Because for me, it's hard to fathom guys running up and down the court, time after time, and they don't sweat. I mean, he has some ability in that body. But if he doesn't use it, what's the use?"

Anderson will undergo his third root canal at 11:30 a.m. today, and he doesn't foresee being able to practice any sooner than Sunday. He realistically puts his return at Feb. 11 at Memphis.

He will come back to an unsure situation, not knowing how many minutes he will play, what he will be asked to do, or knowing how he got into this predicament.

"I don't know where (Cheeks) gave up on me," Anderson said. "And I don't know if he feels like I have given up on him. I just always thought if he had a problem or a situation with me, we could talk about it. But when you take me out of the lineup, then play me 13 minutes . . . six minutes, that's not good conversation."

But Anderson said there is no ill feelings toward Cheeks, because he understands it is a business, and he said he is trying to put his situation into perspective by looking at it as a test of his faith.

"That's all it is, a test," Anderson said. "It's just a spiritual transition I'm going through. But I know I won't change my character or faith for no coach, no basketball game. Won't do it. And that's the thing, and I tell (Cheeks) this: Once I'm done, you are going to remember me as a strong person. You're not going to remember me when I was not playing well, not when you thought I wasn't playing hard, not when you thought I was soft. You are going to think that man has character. And that's what I want people to remember me by, not what I do on the court, but my character."

Jason Quick: 503-221-4372; jasonquick@news.oregonian.com

 

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