Trail Blazers players and coaches met with local media today, one day after the final game of their emotional and exciting seven game series with the Dallas Mavericks. Head Coach Maurice Cheeks, Zach Randolph, Scottie Pippen, Damon Stoudamire and Dale Davis had the following comments about the Playoffs, the impending off-season, and the basketball season to come.

Zach Randolph
"I need to just keep working this summer. I just want to get better so I can come back next season and contribute."

"We're disappointed about the loss, but we all played hard and that's something we can take with us."

"I certainly would like to start next season, so that's a goal I'll be thinking of during my workouts."

"I thought the season was pretty good for me. I think the most important thing is for each member of the team to understand their roles. We did that this year, but we can keep working on it."

Scottie Pippen
"I want to come back. I'd really like to come back, especially the way this season ended and with my injuries. We really came together as a team, especially these last four games. That's what the season is really about. Coming out and playing that way for 82 games. You know it's hard to play with that intensity for 82 games, but you need to get out there and try."

"These last four games we were a different team. We were focused on playing basketball."

"I will not actively pursue other teams. This summer, I will actively be on my boat relaxing."

"I've always felt strength at this organization. To say that this team could win a championship, obviously we can't because we're at home today. But we did come out and show a lot of pride these last four games, and that's something we need to remember next year. "

"My number one priority is my family. They've gotten very comfortable here, so I'd like to stay."

Damon Stoudamire
"Individually, my performance was good, but I'm still disappointed about the loss. We played better when we were down 0-3 than when we were tied 3-3."

"Yesterday's game probably came down to home court advantage. A home court advantage might have gotten us through the first round."

"I think Zach took the opportunity and produced. Zach's got a real bright future in the league. Given the opportunity, I think he showed he can really play in this league."

"Coach Cheeks and I are good. We never had a problem. What's most important to me as a player is that they let me play the way I play and not try to force me into another role. I feel I was able to do that the last few games. Feel my strengths and weaknesses and let me play like I play. I think I can do a little more. I just want to play the way I know I can play."

"We took Dallas, who for most of the season had been the best team in the league, to seven games. We can be proud of that."

"Overall, it was a good season. I've seen it all. It's been an interesting year."

Dale Davis
"We're disappointed in the way it ended. We had some good moments. I thought we showed a lot of heart, but we came up a little short. Overall, you always want to win a professional championship, but we came up a little short."

"We have a pretty solid core. We have enough to win, and unfortunately, we just had some breaks at crucial times. When we're on the same page, we're a pretty good basketball team."

"Me personally, I would like to keep the team together, at least the core. There's always minor changes, but for the core, I think we have enough to win."

"Timing is everything, but I would like to see a team kind of grow together. I'd go to war with Rasheed any night. He gives a whole lot of effort. On the court, Rasheed Wallace is a very talented player. He plays hard."

"If we were healthy, we could have had a legitimate chance at a championship."

"Zach's a rookie and you usually get out what you put in. He puts in the time and puts in the hours. He's just getting better and better. I think he has real potential to be a star in this league. I think he's just going to keep getting better and better. I look for him to be a superstar in this league."

"Like anything else, I'm a competitor. The opportunity is always there. I'm holding my own."

Coach Maurice Cheeks
"The season was up and down. 50 wins is what teams strive for. Overall, toward the end of the season was better. For me the Playoffs were better. We had an up and down season."

"I think as professionals, we learn how to deal with things that happen. When you go out on the basketball court, you deal with situations as they happen. If we want to look back on it after they happen, yeah, but as the season was going on, no I don't think we dwelt on that. I think we focused on basketball. You can always look back and put a different spin on something."

"It had to have affected the fans. Our fans were great. Despite things that happened, they were always cheering, they were always in the arena. They always supported us and were there for us. That's why this is a special place, because they don't want those things happening, but when things happen, they were still in the arena supporting us. We have to be pretty happy that we still have some fans that support us."

"Those things (off the court) never go unnoticed. You have to address them, but it's the same thing with things on and off the court. You have to address it all. I deal with the people I have. I'd like to have all model citizens, but I don't have that. We have to deal with the people that we have, the players that we have. My job is to get them in the right frame of mind. It's not always just about dealing with basketball, obviously. I think as a basketball coach, you have to deal with other things. You have to coach other aspects of life, off the court things. You have to deal with them in that area. I don't mind trying to change a person into something that I think he can be. Maybe I don't make him a great basketball player, maybe I don't achieve a championship, but I have transformed a player to be a better person. Maybe that's what I can do."

"I think I am a better coach. There were times I was concentrating on things other than basketball, but I think I absolutely grew as a coach. You shouldn't go through situations if you don't learn from them. It goes for nothing if you don't learn anything from it. Even this playoff season, I think we learned. We learned from last season. I think I learned as a coach. I told them today, we figured out more importantly how to be a basketball team after we got down 0-3. We really understood about being a basketball team. Their character was tested and they learned. We have a lot of quality players on our team and we've made a lot of steps as a group. You're not ever going to come up with the perfect basketball team, but you're going to work with what you have."

"Rasheed took a tremendous amount of effort to defend Dirk. His ability to defend Dirk Nowitzki helped us out tremendously."

"I think we've found a leader in Damon. He was our strength mentally. They all learned something. At one point we had all these people down on us, then all of the sudden, we win a game here, win there, all of the sudden we had people believing in us. The guys never stopped believing. Damon and Zach played a big part in that. Zach's a young guy and is only going to get better. Damon and Zach are a big reason we came back in that series."

"It's hard to play with playoff energy the whole season. Even the fans don't have the same energy all season. There is a slight difference between playoffs and the regular season."

"We had a chance to win that game last night. I use the players I have. I believe those guys have the ability. They showed that the last three or four games. We have a chance to win. I don't believe you always have to go and change players in order to win. We have players that obviously have the ability to win."

"I am rooting for the Philadelphia 76ers now. I will probably go to a couple of those games as well."

"Scottie showed his value coming in and playing. Not starting, but coming in off the bench. He showed what he can do for our team."