Dress codes, impact rookies, and a new head coach in Portland have me extremely excited about the 2005-06 NBA season.

After 20 consecutive playoff appearances, the Portland Trail Blazers failed to qualify last year, losing their pride and fans. The team went 27-55 in what seemed to be a long, long year. I stopped watching the team after the All-Star break, midway through the season.

Their style of play and the team roster bored me like no other team in recent memory.
This season is different, though. It has a lot of positives already. They got rid of Maurice Cheeks, who really wasn’t a player’s coach. That is crucial knowing that the NBA is a player’s league, not a coach’s league. It will be interesting to see how he does in Philadelphia, handling the egos of Allen Iverson and Chris Webber.

Portland moved up a step by hiring former Seattle SuperSonics head coach Nate McMillan. He is a knowledgeable guy who knows what he has to deal with in Portland. Rookie Martell Webster, the Blazers first round pick, played high school basketball in Seattle and had a pre-existing relationship with McMillan before the two met up in Portland. McMillan’s son was on the state championship O’Dea High School team last year, and has competed against Webster for quite some time. After a couple of years of McMillan handling the roster and draft picks, the future could be promising for Portland.
Commissioner David Stern has issued a dress code for the players of the league and it has caused some controversy. According to the website nba.com the dress code will include:

- Long or short sleeve dress shirts (collar or turtleneck) and/or a dress sweater.
-Dress slacks, khaki pants or dress jeans.
-Appropriate footwear including dress shoes, boots and dress socks.
-No sneakers, sandals of any kind or work boots.
-Players at the game, though not participating, have to wear a sport coat with dress shoes or boots.
Excluded items are:
-Sleeveless shirts.
-Shorts.
-T-shirts, sport jersies, or any sport apparel (unless appropriate for the event like clinics, team related trips, etc.)
-Headgear of any kind, including headphones, hats or beanies. (Headphones can be used on team bus or plane and can be used in private times in the team’s locker room)
-Chains, medallions, pendants or any necklace on the outside of the person’s clothes.
-Sunglasses while indoors or during interviews.

Iverson and Indiana forward/guard Stephen Jackson both said the dress code is racist and Iverson claimed “it sends a bad message to kids.” San Antonio superstar Tim Duncan called the new code “retarded.” There are a lot of mixed emotions in the media about the dress code. ESPN analysts have gone both ways, saying that it is “professional and should be required,” and that it is “racist and targeted towards one culture.”

Personally, I think it is OK to tell the people what to wear, but at the same time it’s not such a great idea to tell people not what to wear. Either way, it seems that many of players will be fined money for breaking the code in its inaugural year.

Another good quality about this year will be the rookies coming into the league.

The Blazers pretty much are full of rookies, second- and third-year players. The average age on the team is 24. Webster and point guard Jarret Jack, a first-round pick out of Georgia Tech University, should be the top impact rookies for the team. Houston drafted guard Luther Head from the University of Illinois and he should help that team in perimeter shooting.

New Orleans took point gaurd Chris Paul out of Wake Forest with the fourth overall pick in last year’s draft. Paul is a smart player with fundamentals galore. In his time at Wake, he was considered one of, if not the best point guard in college.

Another Western Conference team with a promising rookie is the Los Angeles Lakers. They drafted center Andrew Bynum out of high school, and critics draw comparison of Bynum to former Laker Shaquille O’Neal.

Local star Salim Stoudamire (Lake Oswego High School) joined the worst Atlanta Hawks team of all time. The Hawks also added forward Marvin Williams from defending national champion North Carolina. Also from UNC, point guard Raymond Felton, and power forward Sean May went to the home-state Charlotte Bobcats.

Of all of these rookies, none will have a greater impact on his team than point guard Nate Robinson in New York. I know, you’re going to say, “He’s small, he’ll never last or contribute in this league.” I happen to think the opposite of the former University of Washington standout. He is very quick and athletic and that is what the NBA is all about.

He started at cornerback on the UW football team his freshman year, so I know he is tough. He is underrated and will shine under new head coach Larry Brown.

A lot of critics think that foward/center Charlie Villanueva, (Connecticut) is going to be Rookie of the Year in Toronto, but I think that fellow teammate and rookie Joey Graham (Oklahoma State) will have a bigger impact on the team.

To wrap it up: The Blazers are about two years from another playoff appearance and the San Antonio Spurs will probably repeat as Champions. The Miami Heat will threaten them for the title, though.

Sorry Blazer fans, wait until next year.