After a disappointing 2021/22 season saw the Trail Blazers go 27-55 and miss the postseason for the first time in eight years, Portland hopes to turn things around next season. The issue is, the NBA is as deep as its ever been, so even just returning to the playoffs in the Western Conference will be difficult.
The Blazers revamped their roster last season, trading a couple of starters (Norman Powell and Robert Covington) to the Clippers in a move that was primarily about freeing up cap space and moving off long-term money. They also dealt away CJ McCollum, Damian Lillard‘s longtime backcourt partner, and backup big man Larry Nance Jr. to the Pelicans for Josh Hart, salary filler, and draft picks.
Of course, perhaps the primary reason the team struggled was Lillard’s abdominal injury, which ultimately required surgery. However, despite the disappointing results, there might be some reasons for optimism next season.
Injuries to McCollum (he suffered a collapsed lung prior to the trade) and Lillard allowed guard Anfernee Simons to shine in their stead, averaging 22.0 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 5.5 APG on .452/.415/.871 shooting (.600 true) in 30 games as a starter (34.3 MPG). Hart was also exceptional in his brief stint with Portland, averaging 19.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 4.3 APG and 1.2 SPG on .503/.373/.772 in 13 games (32.1 MPG).
With the additional draft assets from the trades, as well as a large traded player exception generated in the McCollum deal, the Blazers acquired Jerami Grant from Detroit. Grant had long been rumored as a target due to his versatility on both ends of the court.
The poor on-court results last season also led to a high draft pick, No. 7 overall, which the Blazers used on a high-risk, high-upside prospect in Shaedon Sharpe. The team’s main addition in free agency, aside from re-signing Simons and Jusuf Nurkic to lucrative deals, was signing Gary Payton II to help improve Portland’s last-ranked defense.
The Blazers’ projected starting lineup is likely Lillard, Simons, Hart, Grant and Nurkic, though there are other options. The bench features a lot of young players and should be fairly flexible depending on who is performing the best, but Payton, Sharpe, Nassir Little, Justise Winslow, Trendon Watford and Drew Eubanks will all be vying for minutes, with Keon Johnson and Jabari Walker a couple of wild cards.
Of the bench group, Little will be an interesting player to monitor. He was having a breakout season prior to tearing the labrum in his left shoulder, causing him to miss the remainder of ’21/22. He’s also eligible for a rookie scale extension.
Overall, I think the Blazers have some solid depth, especially at forward, which has been a position of weakness for several years. However, I’m skeptical that building the foundation of a team around two smaller guards who struggle defensively (Lillard and Simons) was the right move, considering the Blazers had already gone through a similar experiment with Lillard and McCollum for many years, and the team only advanced past the first round three times in those eight playoff berths.
We want to know what you think. Did the Trail Blazers improve enough to return to the postseason? Is there enough talent on the roster for more than that? Will the team’s last-ranked defense improve? How will new additions like Payton and Grant fit in? Can Sharpe contribute right away (and is he expected to)?
As you can see, there are many question marks surrounding the Blazers, but not a lot of answers right now.
Grant is definitely an upgrade from Covington and every team could use a guy like Josh Hart.
Dame is one the top 5 guys in the league that I just love to watch but he is getting a little long in the tooth. I hope he can bounce back from injury and return to form. Curry did and he’s almost two years older than Dame.
There’s a few big question marks though. At one point in his career Nurkic had the potential to be a top 10 center but now he’s three seasons removed from playing close to a full season. Simons looks to very good and should be able to replace McCollum on offense but he seems to have the same limitations on D as McCollum did and very few players could replace CJ’s leadership, confidence and swag.
Overall I think they have improved from a few years ago but then again so have a lot of teams in the West.
Yes agreed Grant is a big acquisition. Hope it reaps benefits for the Blazers this year. It’s funny they’ve cleaned up their balance sheet and salaries and long-term commitments yet still trying to compete in the west. Tough Balancing Act. One benefit is that they’ve gotten younger in a sense, and by that I mean they have some great young pieces that are rotation guys hopefully.
As great as Dame was, he will never be the same player. He’s lost a step, doesnt play defense, and have lost an edge on winning. Unfortunately for the Blazers, their days of making playoffs are over.
Think to maximize this roster you’ve gotta go small ball. Little provides little value at the 3. Play Dame, Simons, Hart, Grant, Nurkic while they are all healthy.
GP3 is the only real rotational player left on the roster. Everyone else has issues. When Sharpe comes back you need to prioritize 2nd unit minutes for him over the marginal ‘veterans’.
I would try to upgrade that SF spot – McDermott, Cam Reddish, Oubre, something like that.
Totally agree about the small backcourt.
I think ideally you’d slide Josh Hart to SG and have him next to Dame and get another forward that can space the floor a little and play a little bit of defence.
Then Simons can play off the bench as a sixth man and GP helps him in the backcourt.
Think they could also done with a veteran big man as depth, LaMarcus Aldridge would’ve been perfect coming back home for a retirement season and helping those young guys.
Don’t really have much in the way on contracts you can move so I’d probably try Justice Winslow for Trey Lyles. Then follow that up with getting LA.
Dame Hart Grant Lyles Nurkic
GP3 Simons Little Watford LA
Sharpe Johnson Walker BrownJr Eubanks
Something like that I think you’ll have slightly better success with
I share the optimism for this season. The key (obviously besides Dame) is if Nurkic can stay healthy, which I’m not sure is possible. I’m all in on Hart & Grant & Simons as starters beside Dame & Nurk. LA would certainly help with the depth issues, and Watford showed some flashes last year. GP3 will certainly help the defense, but not sold yet on Little. I see a fairly decent uptick in the win column, possibly over .500 (44-38 anyone?)
Did anyone ever hear why C.J. McCollum had that collapsed lung? What happened?
That may be the first and only time an NBA player is out with that particular health issue.
The commitment to Dame and lack of commitment to putting a real team around Dame have put the Blazers in NBA purgatory.
What interests me the most is Cronin and his new FO team. It seems they are focused on team cohesion and attitude. Bringing in the work ethic of previous NBA players’ kids (payton, grant, walker), mixed with *local* guys (Payton, grant, eubanks), along with Dame and Billups as mentors, this team should be able to make a ton of progress in developing the young talent. This will be critical for the trade market next year; perhaps SAC falls apart mid-year and would be willing to let go of Sabonis (another local) for the right set of picks and young talent. :)
I haven’t been impressed by this FO and its on the fly rebuild. Looks like there was more activity than achievement. There are two variables with upside. First, Grant. If he can play like the star he claims to be, and Lillard is OK accommodating that, the team could be interesting. I’m skeptical of both. The second is Billups, he’s the kind of coach that can effect a culture change (such that the team, including their star player, defends with some energy). He didn’t have real chance to do that last year, but should this year. I could add Sharpe, who certainly has upside, but I just think the season will be decided (success or failure) by the time he’s ready to make a real impact. At the end of the day, he’s mostly a shooter. Like Lillard, and like Simons.