I know I'm supposed to be happy for Brandon. I'm trying.

But this isn't the same as Drexler. Clyde spent his whole career in Portland, gave us some great years chasing a championship. But in the end he wanted to return home, and it was an amicable break up. I'm happy that Drexler got his ring, and I don't at all feel betrayed.

Oden could go on to win 4 rings with theHeatand become a perennial All-Star. I honestly wouldn't care. I think the organization did everything they could for Greg, and it was just bad luck, and maybe bad timing. But he was never the man, and it felt like he was rarely in Portland, much less on the bench. He just was never really a part of the team.

Brandon's story is so much more complicated. What if he had waited just another week before retiring? Or what if the Blazers decided to wait a little longer before amnestying Brandon? We've absorbed bad contracts on injured players before (albeit not by choice). What if we gave Brandon the benefit of the doubt?

I just can't stand the idea of Brandon wearing a different jersey. It breaks my heart. I realize this is selfish, but I'd rather see Roy as an assistant coach for Blazer team that went 21-60 than see him in any other jersey. I wish Brandon weren't so rash in declaring medical retirement. I wish the Blazers would have sat on his contract for a year, instead of picking up a bunch of free agents who ended up helping us tank the season anyway.

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I'm not really mad at anyone, I think everyone made the best decision they could with the information they had at the time. But this is like that girl you broke up with after she moved away, even though she was the love of your life. Because it was the right thing to do and long distance never works. And you want her to be happy wherever she goes, unconstrained by your selfish desires. Nevertheless, here you are wallowing in self-pity, wishing you had one more chance. But she's moved on, and now all your friends are talking about how they want to date her because she's back on the market. She's found someone new and even though you're still friends, you secretly hope that it doesn't work out. And you wish she would just SHUT UP ABOUT IT, because reading about Brandon going to a different team is going to destroy my insides.

*ahem* Anyway, how are you guys dealing with this?