Pendergraph: Being Waived By Blazers After Injury Was "Like A Slap In My Face"

On Sunday night, former Portland Trail Blazers power forward Jeff Pendergraph appeared on Comcast SportsNet Northwest's Talkin' Ball post-post-game show to discuss his season-ending knee injury, his upcoming surgery and what it felt like to be waived by the Blazers.

Pendergraph, as is his custom, did not mince words, speaking candidly about how surprised he was by the differing medical diagnoses and the team's decision to release him.

Pendergraph said that he was initially informed by Utah's team doctor that his knee injury was minor. "I was like, 'Cool. Heck yeah. I'm going to be back in 4-6 weeks, I'll be back smacking people, it's nothing.'"

That initial diagnosis led to some real surprise when an MRI the following day revealed major ACL damage that would end his 2010-2011 season. "All of a sudden I come here, get my MRI and everything as a precaution and the doctor tells me my ACL is gone," Pendergraph said. "Not partially torn, not a little bit, not a lot ... gone."

In short order, with the news that he was done for the season, the Blazers elected to release him to free up a roster spot so that they could pursue big man Fabricio Oberto (and, in turn, Sean Marks). The decision caught Pendergraph by surprise and still doesn't sit well with him. "To be honest, I felt like I got slapped. It was like a slap in my face, kinda. It caught me off guard. It wasn't something I was expecting."

While Pendergraph is still upset with how things turned out, he did back Portland GM Rich Cho's handling of the process. "You can tell he's like a person, he's not like some super nerd, and all he worries about is numbers and making sure the salaries balance and he has cap space. I thought he was kind of cool."

Pendergraph went on to say that he expects to be back playing basketball at the start the summer and that Portland did not make any promises to him about a potential future as a Trail Blazer.