The Rose Garden Report: A Portland Trail Blazers and NBA Podcast

Sean Highkin (@highkin) offers some thoughts on the Blazers' training camp and underwhelming preseason before being joined by Warriors beat writer Madeline Kenney (@madkenney) of the San Jose Mercury News. They discuss the fallout from the Draymond Green/Jordan Poole incident (12:35), the generation gap between veterans and young players (22:25), how Gary Payton II will fit in Portland (26:30), the Warriors' preseason trip to Tokyo (33:05) and her first half-season on the Warriors beat (39:50).

Sean Highkin (@highkin) is joined by Erik García Gundersen (@blazerbanter), who plays host for this episode to interview Sean about his experience covering Blazers training camp in Santa Barbara. They discuss media day and the Blazers' decision to go out of town for camp (3:15), the excitement around Shaedon Sharpe (12:30), a Gary Payton II update and general Blazers health update (21:45), expectations for Jusuf Nurkic (25:45), the lack of center depth (32:20), Jerami Grant's early fit (35:15), the battle for the starting small forward spot (37:40), Damian Lillard's praise of Keon Johnson (39:40), the Deandre Ayton dialogue (43:00), and the Blazers parting ways with jersey patch sponsor StormX (51:55).

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Sean Highkin (@highkin) goes solo to recap Blazers media day and look ahead to training camp in Santa Barbara.

Sean Highkin (@highkin) is joined by Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov), who covers the business of basketball for The Athletic. They discuss the fallout from the NBA's investigation into Suns owner Robert Sarver and how it compares to the league's response to the Donald Sterling scandal (5:00), what might happen next in the Blazers ownership saga (22:45), the NBA's timeline for expansion (28:15), the likelihood of Portland getting a WNBA franchise (32:25), the Blazers' lack of a G League team (43:45), how the proposed in-season tournament might factor into the NBA's next media rights deal (46:30), and what to expect from Shaedon Sharpe in his rookie season (50:50).

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Sean Highkin (@highkin) welcomes Erik García Gundersen (@blazerbanter) back to the show. They discuss Jusuf Nurkic's play in EuroBasket (3:30), the Blazers parting ways with assistant coach Edniesha Curry (14:35), waiving Didi Louzada and whether the Blazers will be willing to go into the luxury tax (25:15), the Donovan Mitchell trade (34:15) and whether there's a point of diminishing returns with the Jazz-Thunder approach to rebuilding that some fans want the Blazers to take (42:25).

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Sean Highkin (@highkin) welcomes Danny Marang (@DannyMarang) of the Jacked Ramsays podcast and 1080 The Fan's Danny & Dusty back to the podcast. They discuss Danny's new radio gig (2:00), the fallout from last week's controversy with the Blazers' broadcast travel plans (10:25), the lack of ROOT Sports streaming options (21:15), the chances of Portland getting the NBA All-Star Game (27:55), when the Blazers will get a G League team (35:15), Danny's recent interview with Anfernee Simons and his expectations for the season (41:30), how much you can expect from Damian Lillard on the defensive end (46:45) and their projections for where the Blazers stack up in the Western Conference (51:45).

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Sean Highkin (@highkin) welcomes Erik García Gundersen (@blazerbanter) back to the podcast. They discuss the Schedule Leak Industrial Complex (1:45), the Blazers' lack of national TV games (7:15), how the team's schedule looks (11:00), the Blazers' relative lack of drama compared to other teams (23:15), rumors of Bronny James committing to Oregon (30:00) and the recent reports that the Blazers will not be sending their broadcast crews on the road (40:15).

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Sean Highkin (@highkin) is joined by new KOIN 6 sports anchor and reporter Brenna Greene (@brennagreene_). They discuss Damian Lillard's recent camps (3:30), Lillard's leadership style (11:45), the latest Kevin Durant drama (18:00), differences between college basketball fandom and NBA fandom (27:00), Chet Holmgren (37:20), Brenna's thoughts on the Blazers' offseason (43:30), and her Portland roots and decision to move back from Spokane (48:15).

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Sean Highkin (@highkin) is joined by Brandon Sprague (@BrandonSprague) of the Jacked Ramsays podcast and 1080 The Fan's Dirt & Sprague. They get into Brandon's radio interview with Joe Cronin and the importance of media transparency (2:00), the Blazers' hire of Mike Schmitz and the organization's new focus on international scouting (14:30), Cronin's hints about the roles Shaedon Sharpe and Jabari Walker could have in their rookie seasons (25:20), the Blazers' size issues (33:15), Nassir Little's role (41:45), and the possibility of the Blazers getting a G League team (46:15).

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Sean Highkin (@highkin) is joined by Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) of the Washington Post. They discuss the Blazers' Summer League championship (2:00), Ben's thoughts on the Shaedon Sharpe pick (12:00), who impressed Ben in Vegas (16:10), how to incentivize star rookies to play all of Summer League (20:30), celebrity sightings (24:10), Ben "leading by example" going to the entire Summer League event (26:45), and Ben's view on where the Blazers rank in the Western Conference (36:00).

Host: Sean Highkin

Guest: Ben Golliver

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Sean Highkin (@highkin) is back from Las Vegas and welcomes Erik García Gundersen (@blazerbanter) back to the show. They get into Jabari Walker's strong Summer League debut (4:20), Shaedon Sharpe's shoulder injury (13:30), Damian Lillard's comments on Sharpe in his ESPN interview (18:20), Lillard signing a two-year extension with the Blazers (27:30), where Portland slots in the west with a healthy Lillard (30:30), Lillard's trust in Joe Cronin compared to the previous front office (37:30), and the latest rumors about the team's upcoming sale (42:25).

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Sean Highkin (@highkin) goes solo to address Jody Allen's statement about the Blazers not being for sale (2:05), the team's Summer League training camp (19:00), whether another move is coming this offseason (21:30) and where the new-look Blazers sit in the Western Conference hierarchy (26:30).

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Sean Highkin (@highkin) is joined by Erik García Gundersen (@blazerbanter) to break down the opening two days of free agency. They get into Sean's attempt to stake out Kevin Durant at a basketball camp (2:00), the Blazers re-signing Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkic (13:45), the addition of Gary Payton II (19:40), where Damian Lillard stands in all of this (25:05) and some around-the-league thoughts about the first two days of moves.

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Sean Highkin (@highkin) is joined by Detroit Pistons beat writer James Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) of The Athletic to talk all things Jerami Grant. They get into how the trade developed from the Pistons' end (2:05), how Grant's role evolved over his time in Detroit and how he'll adjust to going back to being a role player (7:45), what the Pistons are doing with all the cap space created with the Grant trade (14:00), where a Damian Lillard/Jerami Grant duo slots in the Western Conference playoff picture (18:20) and early impressions of Chauncey Billups as a coach (21:30).

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Sean Highkin (@highkin) is joined by Danny Marang (@DannyMarang) of the Jacked Ramsays podcast to break down the thought process behind the Blazers' selection of Shaedon Sharpe at No. 7 (2:00), what the offseason so far tells us about Joe Cronin's vision (13:45), what the organization looks and feels like under Cronin (22:45), what rest of the offseason may look like (29:30), and what new contracts for Jusuf Nurkic and Anfernee Simons may look like (39:50).

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On the first episode of the Rose Garden Report podcast, Sean Highkin (@highkin) and Erik García Gundersen (@blazerbanter) discuss the Blazers' recent predraft workouts (2:30), the most likely draft-night scenarios (10:45), Summer League (15:20), the team's rumored trade targets (18:30) and the tough needle Joe Cronin and the revamped front office are attempting to thread this offseason (25:30).

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Veteran NBA reporter Sean Highkin (@highkin) brings you coverage of the Portland Trail Blazers and the NBA. Subscribe to the Rose Garden Report newsletter at rosegardenreport.beehiiv.com.