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Marcus Camby Joins the Playoff Contending Blazers
It’s been a whirlwind last couple of days for veteran forward Marcus Camby. On Tuesday, Camby was traded from the bottom dwelling Los Angeles Clippers to the contending Portland Trail Blazers. Camby was supposed to make it into Portland Wednesday evening but his flight was canceled, forcing him to catch a 6 a.m. flight Thursday instead. Then upon hitting the ground, Camby was shuttled off to the Blazers facility where he was immediately given a crash course in what the Blazers like to do on both ends of the floors. All of this before making his debut for Portland Friday night. When the dust settles, Camby will likely be thrilled with his new environs. Living in LA may have his its perks, but playing for the dysfunctional Clippers has to be frustrating for any player, let alone a well-traveled journeyman like Camby.Camby joined KFXX in Portland to talk about how it’s not true that he was furious about being traded, what he expects his role to be with the Blazers, how he’s excited to join a playoff contender, what he’d still like to accomplish in his career, and how he’s excited to be reunited with Andre Miller.
On if it was true that Camby was initially very upset with the trade:
“No, that was just a rumor.”
On how though it’s still nevertheless difficult to get traded:
“Anytime you get traded it’s always an awkward situation, especially wen you’ve been in a place for a couple of years, you’re used to your surroundings, you know, you enjoy the situation that you’re in. But then to find out you’re traded and you have to move on to new surroundings, it’s always difficult. But once you sit back and digest the situation and take a moment to yourself to analyze how things are – where you’re at and where you’re going – it’s a no-brainer. The Clippers are going in opposite direction than what I would have liked in my career. Coming to Portland and being surrounded by the great players that we have – Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge – it was a no-brainer. I definitely welcome the situation to be in playoff contention again, and I definitely can’t wait to get started.”
On if he thinks he’s going to be just a ‘rent-a-player’ for the Blazers:
“After talking to people in the organization the last couple of days, they said they don’t view me as that. They view me here long term, and hopefully things work out for us these next 26 games and we can have a long run in the postseason, and eventually I can be here an extended period of time. I know the situation I’m in, I know why I’m here. Unfortunately for the Trail Blazers, they lost two of their big men in Joel Pryzbilla and Greg Oden so I think that forced my services to be here. But like I said, I’m happy to be here and I’m welcoming to be here and hopefully it can be long term.”
On what he’d still like to accomplish in the final years of his already long NBA career:
“I definitely want to win a championship. I haven’t been to the NBA Finals since ‘99 and that’s 11 years ago. I know how hard and long it can be to get back to that level, but being on this team gives me a better shot to get to it than where I was before. So I’m definitely looking forward to getting that ring, but I’m also looking forward to getting it here in Portland.”
Listen here to Camby with Isaac and Big Suke on KFXX in Portland
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