Spanish news websiteAS.comreportsthat Victor Claver, the 23-year-old Spanish forward selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft, has reached a contract extension that will keep him with ACB club Valencia until June 2014. A translation of the article reveals that the club's general manager is "very happy" and "proud" and that the team's coach sees Claver as "a great player and a great person" who is a role model for Spanish youth. Claver, Valencia's captain, said that he is "very happy and grateful" and called Valencia his "home." Claver played spot minutes for the gold medal-winning Spanish national team during therecent EuroBasket tournament, averaging 2.0 points and 0.6 rebounds in 4.7 minutes per game. -- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com |Twitter

Inan interviewwith New York radio stationWFAN, commissioner David Stern said that next Tuesday, Oct. 18, is a critical date in the ongoing labor negotiations between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association. The two sides are scheduled to meet individually with federal mediator George Cohen on Monday and then all together on Tuesday. Following Tuesday's meeting, the NBA's owners are scheduled to meet among themselves on Wednesday and Thursday. If a deal is not reached on Tuesday, Stern said he would "despair" because it would likely mean further cancellations to the NBA's 2011-2012 regular season and could even put the league's annual Christmas Day games in jeopardy. He also predicted that both sides would harden their negotiating positions if no deal was reached with the help of the mediator.Here's a linkto some key quotes from an interview conducted byDavid AldridgeofNBA.com。---------------------- "Each side is going to meet with the mediator on Monday, and if there's a breakthrough, it's going to come on Tuesday," Stern told NBA.com. "And if not, I think that the season is really going to potentially escape from us, because we aren't making any progress ... how many times does it pay to keep meeting, and to have the same things thrown back at you? We're ready to sit down and make a deal. I don't believe that the union is. Hopefully by Tuesday, aided by the mediator, they'll be ready to make a deal. Certainly I'll bring my owners ready to make a deal." ---------------------- The NBAcancelled的头两周Monda常规赛y.Timmay!posted a link在FanShots中介过程s.Ken BergerofCBSSports.comhas further details on Cohen's track recordhere。-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com |Twitter

Chris Bernuccahasrankedthe 12 dumbest decisions of the last 12 years onSheridanHoops.com。The list is meant to reflect the worst moves since the last time the NBA missed games due to a lockout. The Portland Trail Blazers' decision to select Greg Oden instead of Kevin Durant with the No. 1 pick of the 2007 NBA Draft is ranked No. 8 on the list. ------------------------------ 8. BLAZERS GO BIG, COME UP SMALL: I have to admit I was in the camp of Greg Oden over Kevin Durant. As I often tell my son, when being big is no longer important in this game, I’ll be sure to let you know. But even if you compare Durant’s rookie season, – when he had a staggering 20 teammates on a lame-duck Seattle squad – to Oden’s second season – when he was one of eight lottery picks on a 54-win team – it’s not even close. Roll this one around your mouth: Oden has played 82 career games. Accused murderer Javaris Crittenton, taken 18 picks later, has played 113. ------------------------------ Oden over Durant comes in higher than the Minnesota Timberwolves trading Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics but lower than Kobe Bryant facing a sexual assault lawsuit, Ron Artest fighting with fans during a game, referee Tim Donaghy getting busted by the FBI for manipulating point spreads at the behest of mobsters and "The Decision," LeBron James' ill-fated television special.Dave recently rankedOden as the No. 6 biggest disappointment in franchise history. -- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com |Twitter

A paperback version of Portland Trail Blazers legend Clyde Drexler's autobiography -- "Clyde the Glide: My Life in Basketball" -- is set to be released on Nov. 1. The hardback version came out in 2004 and was written with the help ofPortland TribunesportswriterKerry Eggers。If you're interested, you can pre-order on Amazon.comhere。-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com |Twitter

The greatRob Mahoneytakes a lookat the Portland Trail Blazers over atProBasketballTalk.com。------------------------------- How does a GM with a glut of components fix the team’s flow without sacrificing that which generates its power? It’s hard to say — I’m no electrician. But I’m unconvinced that the problem is a lack of star power. Aldridge is productive enough to act as a team’s primary offensive weapon. He’s that good, and lest we forget, the Dallas Mavericks recently concluded their demonstrative campaign to prove that the one-star model can be effective in the right context. Would Portland benefit from somehow turning Raymond Felton, Nicolas Batum, or Wesley Matthews into a more productive player? Surely. But I remain unconvinced that a lack of a true second fiddle is what dooms the Blazers. They could win with a more cumulative approach, but just don’t seem to have the right amalgamation of overall production and talent. The offensive and defensive potential are there, but the optimal result, for whatever reason, isn’t. The answers are out there for the Blazers and their GM-to-be, but here’s a hope that the rush to find those answers takes a back seat to an enduring patience. Portland only gets one shot at this. They only have so many pieces that can be dealt and so much cap space to work with. Plus, with a newly implemented CBA, they’ll have entirely new rules and stipulations to consider. It may seem like there’s a swiftly ticking clock, but Aldridge, Wallace, Felton, Matthews, Batum, and even Roy have plenty of productive years ahead of them. There’s a window here, but also a problem worthy of careful analysis and creative thinking. There’s no rush. ------------------------------- -- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com |Twitter

Here's a birthday party flyer for Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews, who turns 25 on Friday. The flyer notes that Miami Heat All-Star guard Dwyane Wade will play host; Matthews and Wade both played their college ball at Marquette. Full size versionhere。Via @WessyWes2-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com |Twitter

In a selection which should cause some debate here in Portland, ex-Blazer Zach Randolph comes in at #20 on the ESPN Top 500, three spots higher than the guy who replaced him at the PF position in Portland. (And for those keeping score at home, Garnett was #22, Tum Duncan #19, and none of Amare Stoudemire, Blake Griffin, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, or Kevin Love have been mentioned yet--which would suggest that the folks polled for the survey consider LMA to be the 9th best PF in the league, unless you prefer to think of Gasol and/or Duncan as centers, in which case he's 7th).

Andrew SharpofSBNation.comhascompiled a listof 100 reasons the 2011-2012 NBA season would have been fantastic. The Portland Trail Blazers and their fans make an appearance. ------------------------------- 86. The Trail Blazers and their insane fans have a full year of Gerald Wallace to look forward to. You just got your s**t sent to the fifth row. 85. There's a 50 percent chance LaMarcus Aldridge becomes the best scoring big man in the league this year, and the Blazers join the fray with the Lakers, Thunder, and Mavs among the West elite. ... 29. So yeah, the West is wide open. The Mavs, Thunder, Lakers, Blazers, and Spurs could all win the conference outright, and throw in teams like the Grizzlies and Hornets and maybe even the Clippers, and you've got a solid middle tier that will make things interesting against every contender they play. ------------------------------ -- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com |Twitter