Adam Morrison says he makes Blazers’ roster or retires

Adam Morrison is back in an NBA training camp.

The former No. 3 pick earned it — after being out of the league a couple years he played well enough in Serbia last season to get an invite to NBA Summer League in Vegas, and once there he averaged 20 points and 5 rebounds a game. He played well and had the crowd giving him “M-V-P” chants on the final day. So the Portland Trail Blazers invited him to camp.

And this is it — he makes the team or he walks away from basketball, Morrison told Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.

“I’m going to finish school and start coaching (If he didn’t make the Trail Blazers roster)...I did the Europe thing and it just wasn’t for me,” Morrison told CSNNW.com. “Not saying the (Europe) culture or anything like that, (or) the people, it just wasn’t for me. So, yeah, if it doesn’t work out, I’m willing to look myself in the mirror and say, ‘I gave it a honest shot’ and turn the page. Do something else.”

He’s got an honest shot to make the Blazers roster. The team lost Elliot Williams for the season so they need depth on the wing.

Even back when he was a mocked-by-fans Laker bench warmer, players on that team said in practice he could still shoot the lights out. He worked hard and legitimately impressed guys on a team that won a title with his shooting touch. But when Phil Jackson put him in games his defense was a disaster. So Jackson didn’t put him in a lot of games.

It’s defense that will determine if he sticks in the NBA or becomes a coach somewhere.

“I think everybody is aware that he has a great ability to put the ball in the basket,” (Blazers head coach Terry) Stotts said after the team’s first training camp session. “He can make shots, he can create shots. That’s his strength. That’s his bread and butter and that’s the way he will prove himself. But at the same token, he has to do a little of everything: He’s got to defend, he has to fit within the team.”

Honestly, I’m rooting for the guy. I want him to make it back to the NBA, and contribute there. I wasn’t the only one at Summer League who felt that way, watching a once-maligned draft bust try to work his way back. He was a fan favorite, and if he makes the Blazers roster he will be a fan favorite there as well.