After missing last night’s loss to old coach Mo Cheeks while on the inactively suspended / psuedo T.O.-list, Rip City has become Ultimatium City for Porland’s Ruben Patterson. From the Oregonian’s Jason Quick.
Ruben Patterson on Tuesday said that he is prepared to spend the rest of the season on the inactive list unless the Trail Blazers find a way to play him 25 minutes a game.
Patterson, who was suspended last week for two games, then placed on the inactive list for complaining about his playing time, is scheduled to meet in Portland with Blazers general manager John Nash and coach Nate McMillan either Thursday or Friday.
Nash and McMillan on Tuesday said the meeting will be to determine whether Patterson can accept a reserve role in which he plays limited minutes behind Darius Miles and Zach Randolph. Patterson averaged 19.3 minutes in the first eight games this season — down from the 28 minutes he averaged last season — which included an average of 16.3 minutes in his past three games.
“I don’t think my role of playing 13 or 15 minutes a game is acceptable,” Patterson said from his home in Columbus, Ohio. “I deserve to play 25-plus minutes, but if they want me to play 12 minutes (like he did in his last game against New York), then they can just put me on the inactive list. I mean, those are rookie minutes.”
McMillan said he can’t foresee Patterson getting 25 minutes a game.
“I think those are starter minutes,” McMillan said. “I don’t know how you can give someone off the bench 25 minutes. I mean, he’s at a position that Miles (38.5 minutes a game) and Zach (37.8 minutes) are playing.”
Patterson watched the Blazers’ 107-83 loss to Philadelphia on television Tuesday, then called afterward to get a report on what the team was saying. When told that McMillan didn’t see him getting 25 minutes, Patterson scoffed.
“Well, I ain’t going to play then,” he said.