--LaMarcus Aldridge's agent, Arn Tellem, continues to work to negotiate a contract extension for the power forward with Blazer general manager Kevin Pritchard. If the 6-11 Aldridge isn't signed to a new deal by Oct. 31, he will become a restricted free agent next summer.
"I didn't think it would take this long, but maybe there's something I don't see," Aldridge said. "Maybe I didn't do everything (Blazer management) wanted, or something like that. I want it to (get done). I really can't say if it will. I can't guarantee it. But I want it to be done by Oct. 31." "I'm not going to let it affect my training or games. I'm about playing basketball. I'm about winning. I'm going to do what I do. I will be the same guy -- play hard and try to win games."
--G Brandon Roy has a Northwest Division title -- and an NBA title -- on his mind.
"A reasonable goal is to try to win the division outright," he says. "It's going to be hard. Denver's a really good team. Utah's good. But we feel that should be realistic, to get home-court advantage again. If we don't get home-court in the first round, it's going to be hard to get to our ultimate goal, which is to get to the Western Conference finals, and hopefully (win) a championship.
"The main thing is, I want the team to play to its potential every night. If we do that, it's going to be tough to beat us."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Greg has always been so physically dominant, but he has stepped up in skill a lot. He's not just beating guys, he's doing little shimmies, jump hooks with both hands, and facing guys up now and shooting his little touch shot. If he can continue to add the touch to his game, he's going to be dominant. But I always go back to (this): Greg is going to be as dominant as he wants to be. There's not much you can do to stop him. Once he fully realizes that, he's going to be awesome." -- Brandon Roy, on second-year center Greg Oden.
