The one thing you can't call the Portland Trail Blazers is dull. They won an NBA title in 1977, starring Bill Walton and coach Jack Ramsay. They blew the biggest lead in the history of Game 7s in the fourth quarter of the 2000 Western Conference finals to set off the Los Angeles Lakers onto a run of three consecutive championships. They have even made it to the playoffs 21 years in a row entering this season, but have not won a title during that time (lost twice in the Finals). But nobody could have imagined the acrimony that developed over the past three seasons between ownership, management and the fans of the Blazers -- highlighted by a $104 million payroll and an array of embarrassing circumstances surrounding Damon Stoudamire, Rasheed Wallace and Ruben Patterson that have caused a dramatic change. "We're very clear on our goals, objectives and responsibilities," new Blazers president Steve Patterson said. "To the extent that you run a business in a certain manner, there's a strong culture that you expect all the employees to adhere to. Then you are likely to have better success on character issues and you are likely to have better success in the business as a whole." At least on paper, he would like to think that way. But since Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen bought the Blazers from Larry Weinberg in 1988, there have been plenty of highs, but the lows have been more extreme. Patterson was hired on June 18, followed by John Nash as general manager a month later because Bob Whitsitt resigned both positions as a way to improve his personal life and give the people of Portland a fresh start with the Blazers. Part of the problem was the reality that both Allen and Whitsitt live 175 miles north in the Seattle area and the people of Portland began to resent the two carpetbaggers in the wake of off-court incidents from the players. And when Whitsitt admittedly continued adding players with plenty of talent but questionable character -- an uproar that began during the 2000-2001 season gained enough steam that even averaging 50 wins a year wasn't enough. So with his son entering his junior year in high school and Allen's desire to drive his other team -- the Seattle Seahawks -- into the upper echelon of the NFL, Whitsitt bailed on the Blazers after they lost to Dallas in the 2003 playoffs to pour everything into the Seahawks. Patterson was hired to restructure the Blazers. The son of former Houston Rockets owner Ray Patterson, he was the general manager of the Rockets from 1989-93. But he's been out of the NBA since -- working with the Houston Aeros of the International Hockey League and then helping acquire the Houston Texans and getting their stadium built. However, last year the Texans were pushing him out of the picture, and he jumped at the chance to take over the Blazers. But considering Whitsitt did both personnel and run the franchise, the team needed a general manager. Both Ed Stefanski of the New Jersey Nets and John Hammond of the Detroit Pistons turned down the job to stay put. Jerry Krause, the former Chicago Bulls president, was interviewed. So was Boston's Chris Wallace. Nash was even interviewed early in the process and sent away without a promise, only to resurface when a sense of desperation began to sink in after nearly two months had passed without a hire. Yes, he does have 15 years of experience in the NBA, but the last 11 seasons -- with New Jersey and Washington -- he's had one winning record and a .348 winning percentage overall. He did have a 180-148 mark as general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers from 1986-90, but it's been a long time between success stories. He was deposed from New Jersey after five seasons when Rod Thorn was hired in June of 2001. "I've been out of action for a while," Nash said. "But it's exciting to come to a new team; a good team, with a lot of good young players. I welcome the opportunity to make us better." Now it gets interesting. Patterson knew coming in he would lose the $19.7 million contract of Scottie Pippen off the top, plus Antonio Daniels was a free agent and Arvydas Sabonis had a non-guaranteed $7 million-plus. Ostensibly, that would cut $30 million from the payroll right there -- saving $60 million out of Allen's pocket if you consider the 1-for-1 luxury tax. Not that it was easy. First of all, Pippen and Sabonis were the two key leaders on the team, and Daniels one of the true good guys. There had been deals that would have sent Stoudamire or the problematic Ruben Patterson and mercurial Jeff McInnis to Minnesota for retiring Terrell Brandon's $11 million contract. Either way they would have dumped big numbers for a zero contract. Then they could have kept the good guys, and considered trading Wallace while building with the younger players. Part of the problem was the timing. Patterson had so much to deal with (including laying off 88 people the first week of July), getting clear on the personnel matters was no easy task. Whitsitt handled the June draft and left on June 30. Nash wasn't hired until July 15. Meanwhile, all the other teams were in motion. There were dalliances with Gary Payton, but communications stalled, and he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. They got into the Brad Miller sweepstakes late, and he ended up going to Sacramento. What they have set up is a 25-point code of ethics employees must follow (most of it was already in place in previous year, but never formally). They also hired popular former Blazers forward Jerome Kersey to be director of player programs. It was a great public relations move on the surface, but Kersey had his share of issues off the court as well as a player. Patterson said that since neither of the two teams in the Finals -- the champion San Antonio Spurs nor the Nets -- paid luxury tax, he sees no reason why the team must have such an exorbitant payroll to be successful. Two years from now, he sees them being near the salary cap and nowhere near the luxury tax with Stoudamire's excessive deal over and the paying off of Shawn Kemp complete. "You never know for sure, but that's the plan," he said. As for moving Wallace, who is entering the final year of a contract that will pay him some $18 million, Nash said, "Rasheed is a marvelous player and it's very hard to get back a player of his stature when he has so much baggage he's taking with him. You never get value in return, even if people want to take that contract off their cap next summer." Which in all likelihood is where the Blazers are headed. With both Patterson and Nash getting accustomed to new jobs and surroundings, it will be tough to make a lot of changes. But they do have lots of young talent -- only Dale Davis and Stoudamire will be at least 30 when the season starts -- while Davis and injury-prone Derek Anderson are solid leaders. The future, whatever it holds, will very likely revolve around the likes of Bonzi Wells, Zach Randolph and Qyntel Woods. As for the start of this season, things very well could begin status quo. "There will probably be some tweaks here and there," Patterson said. "But if we go to camp with who we have, then that's what we've got. We know where we're headed with this, but it's not going to happen over night." --

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