Dorell Wright is one of the newest members of the Blazers and he's understandably excited about his fresh surroundings. How stoked is the 27-year-old sharpshooter? He says that the Blazers can be a playoff team this season in the ulta-competitive Western Conference.
"Yeah, why not?” Wright told Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. “We’ve got the guys. We’ve got a star point guard that can be an All-Star next year. LaMarcus Aldridge was an All-Star last year, and you’ve got guys around them like [Nic] Batum and Wes Matthews that are solid players as well.”
A team headlined by a sophomore Damian Lillard, Aldridge, and Batum can undeniably do some damage. The Blazers also bolstered their second unit – a definite weakness last season – by adding Wright, Mo Williams, No. 10 overall pick C.J. McCollum, Thomas Robinson, Earl Watson, and Allen Crabbe. Wright, who is among the best shooters in the Association, should be a major help to Portland after they finished 20th in three point field goal percentage (35.3%) in 2012/13.
The case against the Blazers, of course, is the rest of the field. The fact of the matter is, there just aren't a lot of openings for a team like Portland – certainly good, but definitely not great – in this year's Western Conference. Barring something unforeseen, one has to imagine that the Spurs, Thunder, Rockets, Clippers, Grizzlies, and Warriors are going to the postseason. That leaves quality teams like the Timberwolves, Nuggets, Mavs, Lakers, (the dramatically improved) Pelicans, and Blazers to duke it out for the final two seeds. Is Dorell delusional or is he Wright on the money?