July 27, 2004

The Portland Trail Blazers met with local media today to welcome Nick Van Exel to the team.

Trail Blazers General Manager John Nash, Head Coach Maurice Cheeks and Nick Van Exel met with media to discuss his addition to the team, his plans for moving to Portland, why he wanted to be a Trail Blazer and how he fits into the roster rotation.

"First I just want to thank GM John Nash and Coach Cheeks for having me and thank the peole for coming out. I'm really excited about this year. I really liked what the Trail Blazers did last year with some of the trades they made. Hopefully, I can come in next year and be a good addition to the team and we can get to the playoffs."

Click here to learn about Nick's first community appearance

Click here for an interview with Nick

Click here for the details of the trade

Take a look at some of the quotes below to learn more about what was discussed:

Question: How do you see Nick fitting in?

Maurice Cheeks: "Nick is a quality player, one of the things that Nick does so well is big game situations as we all know when we played Dallas in the playoffs. If it wasn’t for Nick we probably would have won that seventh game in Dallas. So Nick’s ability to play the one and two is going to really help us a lot, we can play him with Damon, we can play him with D.A. He is going to give us a great addition to our backcourt particularly on the offensive end."


Question: How much does this trade rejuvenate you?

Nick Van Exel: "Well I think for me it is about being out on the court playing. Of course winning is the most important thing to me. Coming here I’m just excited about the opportunity that we have a team that is capable of doing things in the playoffs. That’s all I really care about."


Question: What do you think about sharing time with Damon?

Nick Van Exel: "It’s not a problem. I am at the point in my career where I know I am not a big minutes guy. I know my role. I don’t have a problem splitting minutes because Damon is a quality point guard. Anderson and Hassell are good two guards. We have a lot of players that can play. As long as we get the job done collectively as a group that is what is most important."


Question: Are you excited to play for a coach that was such a great player?

Nick Van Exel: "I am really excited. I respected Mo as a player and I really respect him more as a coach because of what he has done with this team especially with all it has been through."