Isaiah Rider 30 Points @ Lakers (16.01.1997)

I remember this game.....JR used to bully Kobe.....

Too bad so many people hated him because when it boils down to it - regardless of how poorly he did after we sent him to the Hawks - there was no way on Earth Smith even close to being as good of a all around player and the real joke of it is - i don't even think he was much better than Jimmy Jackson who was also sent along with Rider for Steve! We traded two very well-rounded players who were faster/quicker/more-athletic and above all - WAY MORE VERSATILE for guy who was every bit as old and eventually played like (by the time Portland got him) - lie the aging pure-shooter he had shown to be turning into a year or two before the trade for fuck's sake! I find it utterly mind-boggling when i go on Portland Blazer's fan forums or news-sites and they talk about how great the team after that trade was - when we basically traded away half a team of good players and couple even were almost individually (Rider/Jackson and Walt Williams) - as good if not better n many ways than the "new star talent" we got in return: Pippen an Smith. We lost Rider/Jackson/Greg Anthony/Calvin Cato/Walt Williams - all for those two guys who were both a year or two beyond anything close to what you could call "their prime"