{"id":711681,"date":"2026-04-16T10:22:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:22:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/711681\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T10:22:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:22:22","slug":"where-are-the-jail-blazers-now-inside-the-portland-basketball-players-lives-after-controversy-on-and-off-the-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/711681\/","title":{"rendered":"Where are the ‘Jail Blazers’ Now? Inside the Portland Basketball Players’ Lives After Controversy On and Off the Court"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Untold:<\/p>\n

Untold: Jail Blazers.
Credit: Courtesy of Netflix<\/p>\n

In the late \u201890s and early 2000s, the Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> earned themselves the catchy, but controversial nickname, the “Jail Blazers.”<\/p>\n

In 1994, Bob Whitsitt became general manager of the Trail Blazers and was determined to make the them championship contenders again. Known as \u201cTrader Bob,” Whitsitt traded for players with great talent, but potential behavioral risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you did your time, I believe you should get another shot. It\u2019s time for a new Trail Blazer chapter,\u201d Whitsitt said in Netflix’s Untold: Jail Blazers. \u201cCan I clean this guy up, repackage him and turn it into something spectacular?”<\/p>\n

In the late \u201890s, he acquired temperamental future NBA champion Rasheed Wallace<\/a>, former Rookie of the Year Damon Stoudamire<\/a> and Bonzi Wells<\/a>, who once publicly dissed the entire fanbase. The team peaked after bringing in six-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Their success put a spotlight on the team, highlighting their on-court antics and off-court struggles, including teammates getting into trouble for alleged drug possession and criminal trespassing. Many fans, critics and even Stoudamire critiqued the “Jail Blazers” moniker, though, as overstating the criminality of the Black players on the team and lumping everyone together, despite the differing severity of their charges.<\/p>\n

“My whole thing with that ‘Jail Blazers’ moniker was that it felt like an undertone. It felt like an undertone of being racist without directly being racist. I just didn’t like it,” he said on All The Smoke<\/a> in April 2026.<\/p>\n

Here’s everything to know about where the “Jail Blazers” are today.<\/p>\n

01 of 05<\/p>\n

Rasheed Wallace\"Rasheed<\/p>\n

Rasheed Wallace #30 of the Portland Trail Blazers on December 22nd, 2000 in Denver, Colorado; Rasheed Wallace on October 31, 2025 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Credit: Brian Bahr\/Getty; David Dow\/NBAE via Getty<\/p>\n

After being drafted by the Washington Bullets in 1995, the Trail Blazers traded for Wallace.<\/p>\n

In addition to his impressive shooting, he became known for his emotional, adrenaline-fueled antics. He broke the record for technical fouls twice \u2014 amassing 41 in one season \u2014 constantly arguing with referees and fighting on the court, resulting in suspensions.<\/p>\n

Things became more serious in 2002 when Wallace and Stoudamire were in a car pulled over for speeding and police found marijuana in the vehicle. They were both cited for misdemeanor marijuana possession and pleaded not guilty, per ESPN<\/a>. The charge was dropped after he completed community service and drug and alcohol counseling. Stoudamire agreed to a separate plea deal and his charge was also dropped.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were used to the guys who would come to the games in the suits, the Magic Johnsons<\/a>, the Michael Jordans<\/a>,\u201d Wallace said in Untold: Jail Blazers. \u201cHere we come. We\u2019re loud, boisterous, riding around in big cars, smoking weed so we’re definitely the opposite of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wallace was traded to the Detroit Pistons<\/a> in 2003, and he helped lead them to a championship in 2004 and earned two All-Star selections. The Boston Celtics<\/a> acquired Wallace in 2010 and he led them to the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n

Wallace then retired before returning for one season with the New York Knicks in 2013.\u00a0As his playing days ended, Wallace became a coach, first with the Pistons in 2013, then with Jordan High School in Durham, N.C. in 2019 and with the NCAA\u2019s Memphis Tigers in 2021.<\/p>\n

Wallace has three children with his ex-wife Fatima Sanders. He didn\u2019t attend the Trail Blazers\u2019 25-year reunion and ultimately shared in Untold: Jail Blazers that he doesn\u2019t have the warmest feelings toward the fanbase.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the people who didn’t support me and wanted me gone … I left. Yeah, you’re still mad … I’m not mad, but you’re still mad … sleep on that one,\u201d Wallace said.<\/p>\n

In 2016, Wallace spoke out about the Flint Water Crisis in The Players’ Tribune<\/a> and personally volunteered to get clean water to the Michigan residents.<\/p>\n

02 of 05<\/p>\n

Damon Stoudamire\"Damon<\/p>\n

Damon Stoudamire of the Portland Trail Blazers on February 26, 1999 in Charlotte, North Carolina; Damon Stoudamire on February 21, 2026 in Louisville, KY.
Credit: Sporting News via Getty; Jeffrey Brown\/Icon Sportswire via Getty<\/p>\n

After being drafted by the Toronto Raptors<\/a> in 1995 \u2014\u00a0 where he won Rookie of the Year \u2014 Portland traded for Stoudamire in 1998.<\/p>\n

After the possession citation with Wallace, Stoudamire was arrested for alleged marijuana possession when police found a pound of it in his home after a burglar alarm was tripped, per ESPN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The charge was dismissed after it was proven the police entered his home illegally without a warrant, but he was arrested for a third time in 16 months after authorities claimed they discovered marijuana on him at an airport.<\/p>\n

Stoudamire paid a $250,000 fine and entered a 90-day rehabilitation program during a suspension from the team. The status of the charges is unknown. He was then traded from the Trail Blazers to the Memphis Grizzlies<\/a> in 2005.<\/p>\n

After retiring from the NBA in 2008, Stoudamire became a coach, earning multiple gigs on college staffs, and worked as an assistant with the Celtics from 2018-2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere I am man, coaching college, coaching kids on the highest level,\u201d Stoudamire said in Untold: Jail Blazers. \u201cI’ve been through some [stuff] and so it makes it a lot easier for them to understand me because it’s not cookie cutter for me, you know? Because I wasn’t perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n

In April 2026, Stoudamire became an assistant coach with LSU<\/a>. According to the NBA Coaches Association<\/a>, Stoudamire is married to a woman named Natasha and they share two children.<\/p>\n

03 of 05<\/p>\n

Bonzi Wells\"Bonzi<\/p>\n

Bonzi Wells #6 of the Portland Trail Blazers on November 16th, 2000 in Toronto, Canada; Bonzi Wells in Untold: Jail Blazers.
Credit: Robert Skeoch\/Getty; Courtesy of Netflix<\/p>\n

The Trail Blazers traded for Bonzi Wells in the 1998 draft.<\/p>\n

He received multiple suspensions during his Trail Blazers tenure for offenses including swearing at his coach, making an obscene gesture to a fan and both hitting and verbally abusing a referee.<\/p>\n

Wells was also cited for criminal trespassing alongside teammate Erick Barkley in 2001 after refusing to depart the scene of a fight near a nightclub. The status of the case is unknown.<\/p>\n

However, Wells\u2019 most infamous offense came as fans were turning on the team for their “Jail Blazers” reputation. In 2001, Wells told Sports Illustrated the fans didn’t matter to the team which earned him a $50,000 fine, per Oregon Live<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to worry about what the hell [the fans] think,\u201d Wells said. \u201cThey don\u2019t really matter to us. They can boo us everyday but they’re still gonna ask for autographs of us on the street. That’s why they’re fans and we’re NBA players.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Trail Blazers traded Wells to the Grizzlies in 2003 and he went on to play for the Sacramento Kings<\/a>, Houston Rockets<\/a> and had a final season with the New Orleans Hornets in 2008 before playing internationally.<\/p>\n

Wells reflected on his Sports Illustrated quote heading into the Trail Blazers reunion, where fans largely embraced him.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The] Sports Illustrated thing killed my career. It’s been 20 years. I’ve been trying to change the narrative,\u201d Wells said. \u201cIt’s just almost like, not closure, but it just makes me like \u2018Ok. Let me go and let’s move forward. Let me let go of the past hurts and all that stuff that we went through.’ \u201d<\/p>\n

Wells became an assistant coach with Georgia Tech in 2023 under Stoudamire, leading the team to the playoffs in 2025. He has three sons including Christian, who played for LeMoyne-Owen College, where Wells coached prior to Georgia Tech.<\/p>\n

04 of 05<\/p>\n

Shawn Kemp\"Shawn<\/p>\n

Shawn Kemp #40 of the Portland Trail Blazers on December 12th, 2000 in Oakland, California; Shawn Kemp in Untold: Jail Blazers.
Credit: Jed Jacobsohn\/Getty; Courtesy of Netflix<\/p>\n

Six-time All-Star Shawn Kemp<\/a> had to end his first season early in Portland to enter rehab for drug abuse, specifically cocaine, per ESPN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He played for the Trail Blazers until 2002 before being waived and joining the Orlando Magic<\/a>, where his NBA career ended in 2003 despite comeback attempts, leading Whitsitt to reflect on the trade years later.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was overweight. He didn\u2019t have the same game he had before. But I\u2019m willing to risk that in a second. Can I roll seven again,\u201d Whitsitt said in Untold: Jail Blazers. \u201cWe were aggressive … [it] made sense. I failed.\u201d<\/p>\n

After retiring, Kemp invested in various businesses, opening a sports bar called Oskar\u2019s Kitchen in Seattle prior to opening a dispensary and becoming a part owner of Amber’s Kitchen, also in Seattle.<\/p>\n

In 2023, Kemp was arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting and pleaded guilty to second-degree assault. He received a sentence of home confinement, per The Seattle Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kemp has at least seven children with six women.<\/p>\n

05 of 05<\/p>\n

Ruben Patterson\"Ruben<\/p>\n

Ruben Patterson #21 of the Portland Trail Blazers on February 19, 2003 in Portland, Oregon; Ruben Patterson on July 9, 2017 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK.
Credit: Sam Forencich\/NBAE via Getty; David Stacy\/Icon Sportswire via Getty<\/p>\n

Whitsitt\u2019s most controversial acquisition came in 2001 when he brought in registered sex offender Ruben Patterson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Patterson was accused of forcing his nanny to perform oral sex, for which he was sentenced to a year in jail with all but 15 days suspended under a modified guilty plea for an attempted rape charge.<\/p>\n

Whitsitt later commented on hiring Patterson.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know his transgressions happened with another team at another time,\u201d he said. \u201cI’m not saying it was the greatest signing we ever did. I\u2019m not suggesting that at all. I’m saying when we did it, we weighed a lot of factors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patterson faced a felony charge of domestic assault against his wife Shannon in 2002. She later dropped the charges and the couple divorced.<\/p>\n

Patterson continued playing for the Trail Blazers until 2006 and played for the Denver Nuggets<\/a> and Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> in 2007 before retiring from the NBA.<\/p>\n

Read the original article on People<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Untold: Jail Blazers.Credit: Courtesy of Netflix In the late \u201890s and early 2000s, the Portland Trail Blazers earned…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":711682,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3784],"tags":[7,601,41203,18301,75,9432,187,188,194,86173,177,121,6,7322,191,76,687,471,3967,6696,477,476,1617,2183],"class_list":{"0":"post-711681","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-portland-trail-blazers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-blazers","10":"tag-bob-whitsitt","11":"tag-bonzi-wells","12":"tag-boston-celtics","13":"tag-damon-stoudamire","14":"tag-denver-nuggets","15":"tag-detroit-pistons","16":"tag-houston-rockets","17":"tag-jail-blazers","18":"tag-memphis-grizzlies","19":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","20":"tag-nba","21":"tag-new-orleans-hornets","22":"tag-new-york-knicks","23":"tag-orlando-magic","24":"tag-portland","25":"tag-portland-trail-blazers","26":"tag-portlandtrailblazers","27":"tag-rasheed-wallace","28":"tag-sacramento-kings","29":"tag-toronto-raptors","30":"tag-trail-blazers","31":"tag-washington-bullets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=711681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/711682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}