Portland Trail Blazers: Offseason Report Card
The Portland Trail Blazers had a fantastic season last year. Coming off of a disappointing 33-49 season the year prior, the Trail Blazers managed to improve in leaps and bounds this past season. The Trail Blazers completely turned the ship around and finished with an elite 54-28 record while finishing fifth in the Western Conference. It was an amazing season led by the brilliant LaMarcus Aldridge and the outstanding Damian Lillard.
The Portland Trail Blazers could have lost to the higher seeded Houston Rockets and it still would have been a great season for the team. A 21-game turnaround isn’t very common in the NBA and the fact that the Blazers were even in the playoffs in the brutal Western Conference was an accomplishment in itself.
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Damian Lillard had other ideas, however, and the Trail Blazers upset the Rockets with a Game 6 buzzer beater to send Portland into the second round. Of course, the Portland Trail Blazers then ran into the San Antonio Spurs’ buzz saw. But this season should never be looked at as a failure because what the Portland Trail Blazers did was remarkable.
Offseason Needs:
Portland did have one pretty big hole to fill during the offseason. Defensively, the Blazers were atrocious last year. The focus for this offseason should have been to get better on the defensive end. The team could also use some experience, as they have a young core of players with little experience. Their lineup looks set and only their bench could have used some improvement, especially with backup big men. Meyers Leonard and Joel Freeland were terrible last year. And although Thomas Robinson showed some improvement, he can’t play both backup spots.
The Portland Trail Blazers didn’t have any draft picks this year, which is perfectly okay for this team. They’re stocked with young talent, so draft picks are not instrumental in making Portland a championship-winning team in the near future.
Free Agency:
With the Portland Trail Blazers’ needs in mind, it was a pretty good free agency. The team parted ways with Mo Williams, but they signed Steve Blake to replace him. Blake is much more of a natural point guard and plays a lot more under control than Williams. That is something that will be valuable for the Portland Trail Blazers during stretches of games. With the addition of Blake, the team also added improved defense and experience.
While Blake isn’t the best defender, he is a very smart and crafty defensive player. He works extremely hard on that end and will at least make his opponent work hard to get theirs.
The move I think will have a bigger impact is the signing of Chris Kaman. Blake will be good for the Blazers, but Kaman really fills in the bigger need. Kaman really helps the massive need for a backup big man, and that will go a long way to keeping Robin Lopez and Aldridge better rested for the playoffs and off of the injured list. Underrated signings by the Portland Trail Blazers.
Grade: B
The Portland Trail Blazers kept their core intact while adding a calming presence as a backup point guard and a much-needed big man to spell Robin Lopez and LaMarcus Aldridge. This offseason was a win for the team, even if it looks a bit underwhelming. If guys like Robinson and C.J. McCollum can develop into serviceable backups to go along with those additions, Portland will be dangerous. The Portland Trail Blazers are slowly getting there, though they aren’t there yet.