It's not very often that a guy can celebrate New Year's in June.

When Channing Frye was traded from the New York Knicks in a packaged deal for Zach Randolph way back on draft night, there were questions about how he would fit in Portland. But now with the real "New Year" officially upon us, Frye recently had a chance to look ahead by first looking back.

"If I look back on these last six months since I've been here, a lot has changed. I never really imagined it," Frye told HOOPSWORLD before the Blazers embarked on their three-game road trip which continues tonight in Minnesota."This definitely feels like where I am supposed to be."

After spending two years in New York - where he went from franchise cornerstone to lost in the offensive shadow of Knicks center Eddy Curry - Frye appears more confident and comfortable with each game he plays for Portland. It helps when you have the support of friends who know a change in environment was truly for the best.

When the New Jersey Nets came to Portland back in mid-November, Frye had a chance to hang out with fellow Arizona alum Richard Jefferson and the two talked about how life has changed for the better for Frye.  

"There is a lot of stuff going on and off the court in New York, that I think a lot of people wouldn't want to be a part of," Jefferson told HOOPSWORLD about Frye's situation.

"It's no disrespect to them. But when you are a young player coming into this league and you can't just focus in on basketball, I think it was just tough. Sometimes you have to look at how you can be used. But Channing is a guy, for a coach, you have to find ways to get him minutes. He's a talented kid. He loves it here. He loves the environment, the players, the coaches."

Frye and Jefferson's talk only confirmed what Frye quickly realized soon after he received the phone call from Isiah Thomas informing him he had been traded.

"Every person sometime just grows up out of situations," Frye said.

And since the start of the season, Frye has had plenty time to rise to the occasion in a variety of roles for head coach Nate McMillan.

He's started in place of LaMarcus Aldridge and has come off the bench for Joel Przybilla. He received a couple "Did Not Play, Coaches Decision" when he was replaced by Raef LaFrentz in the starting lineup and reaped the praise of teammates and coaches alike when he dropped 20 points and snagged 9 rebounds in a win at Denver weeks ago. And although Frye's minutes and production have been reduced (he's averaged 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in 17.9 minutes per game.), he knows what's really important at the end of the day. 

"When you can trust your players and trust your coaches when you are in the right situation, it's not hard to play your heart out. You're going to play for six, seven minutes and then someone else is going to come in and play for six or seven minutes. Then you're going to get right back in there."

For Frye and Portland, the past month truly was a December to remember.

Despite the Utah Jazz snapping Portland's 13-game win streak Monday night, the Blazers lost only two games in the month and established the second-longest win streak in franchise history, thanks to what Frye calls "hard work and unselfishness". And now with the streak over and the rest of the regular season is to come, Frye actually admits he saw all this coming.    

"The kind of basketball we've been playing, I imagined we could do this. How we are playing now is how I envisioned us."

What a difference a year can make - or at least, six months.