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Saturday, July 21, 2001
Blazers land Anderson, may lose Smith
Associated Press
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PORTLAND, Ore. -- Denied a contract extension and caught
off-guard by his team's courtship of Derek Anderson, Portland Trail
Blazers shooting guard Steve Smith has asked to be traded.
Smith drove to Seattle on Friday and met with Blazers general
manager Bob Whitsitt for 50 minutes, during which Smith asked
Whitsitt for a two-year contract extension, The Oregonian reported.
The request was denied.
Around the same time, Anderson had agreed in principle on a deal
with the Blazers. Anderson, a free agent who plays the same
position as Smith and Bonzi Wells, had broken off negotiations with
the San Antonio Spurs.
"I have only one option: I told Bob that I seek to be traded,"
Smith said. "What else can I do? Then you sign Derek Anderson? So
there are going to be three guards for one position? It's nothing
against Derek, it's nothing against anybody, but I don't see that
working."
Smith, 32, has two years left on a contract that will pay him $9
million during the 2001-02 season and $10 million in 2002-03. He
has been seeking a two-year extension with the Blazers since he was
traded from Atlanta in August 1999.
"Steve very much wants us to extend his contract, and we've
said that as much as we like Steve, and he's been an excellent
player for us and all those things ... with the kind of dollars
that players are making today, we think it's best to wait until a
guy's contract gets to the end," Whitsitt said.
Smith said he has earned the right to be rewarded. He averaged
14.9 points his first season in Portland and 13.6 points last
season, when he lost his starting job to Wells.
"I've earned it. I've been the ultimate team player, I've taken
a lot of issues thrown at me last year, I've proven what I can do
playing-wise, I've proven that my knees are good. ... What else can
I do?" Smith said.
"I'm not a guy who runs and complains but I need a little
respect. I mean, golly, I'm not asking for the world. I'm just
saying what is fair for me."
Smith becomes the odd man out in the lineup after the Blazers
stumbled into getting Anderson. The 27-year-old player averaged
15.5 points for the Spurs last season, after signing a one-year
free-agent deal worth $2.25 million. San Antonio had offered him
$43 million over six years, but the deal was incentive-heavy, and
Anderson didn't like that the final season wasn't fully guaranteed.
Anderson has agreed to take Portland's mid-level salary-cap
exception of $4.5 million, and the team has agreed to extend the
deal to six season for up to $34 million. The Blazers and Spurs
also are trying to work out a sign-and-trade deal that could boost
Anderson's salary and free up the exception so Portland could sign
another player.
Smith said he told his agent, Dr. Charles Tucker, to start
looking for a trade immediately. He said he wouldn't mind playing
for San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia or Miami. He
said he wants to resolve the issue quickly because his wife is
expecting their second child in January.
"If they want to get rid of me, if they don't think I'm
valuable here, why not do it now and pull the trigger?"
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