Portland Says Farewell To It's Longest Active Player
Aug 26, 2016 16:14:32 GMT
Piraeus and San Francisco like this
Post by Portland on Aug 26, 2016 16:14:32 GMT
Howard Eisley in a pensive moment
The Portland Trailblazers are a franchise traditionally having very low roster turnover, giving their fans a chance to really get to know the players. When one of those players reaches the end of the line it's a sad day for the city. With today's season-ending sim it's time to say goodbye to point guard Howard Eisley, the franchise all-time leader in games played and steals.
Eisley joined the Blazers in 2002 after having been a key starter in Newcastle for two seasons. Howard didn't start a single game for us that season but he was a vital sub getting 20 minutes off the bench. In subsequent seasons he got much more playing time as a versatile combo guard for the team; he developed his 3-pt touch to the point he averaged 40% out there for the 2004 'Bombs Away Blazers'. He became more of a shooting guard the past few seasons with Jamaal Tinsley running the point for us, but he adapted to every role we gave him without complaint. He's still a good shooter but at 31 his ball skills have begun to diminish, leading to his minutes plunging to just 8.6 a night this season. He's been unhappy about this but is too classy to make waves while the team struggled to get back to the playoffs.
Now with his aging team clearly headed to the lottery and Eisley's contract running out, the winds of change are blowing Howard toward retirement - although his agent says his client still hopes to catch on with someone next season. It was just two months ago that he scored 33 points with 12 assists against the mighty Knicks, so there's obviously some life in him still in the right environment. None-the-less if we see him at the Moda Center again, it will be as a visiting player. We'll miss watching Howard out their on the floor every night (as well as watching his wife Tai in the wives' section of the arena) but we wish to thank him for his years of service with the team. We'll remember him fondly for posting one of the franchise's five all-time triple-doubles, and for his consistency.
Thanks and good luck Howard.
