Damian Lillard has to imagine looking around the court and being stunned by who he doesn’t see wearing the same Portland Trail Blazers colors as him.
Backcourt running mate Wesley Matthews is with the Dallas Mavericks. The entire starting frontcourt has new addresses, with Nicolas Batum now with the Charlotte Hornets, LaMarcus Aldridge a member of the San Antonio Spurs and Robin Lopez taking his wild hair to the New York Knicks.
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But Lillard doesn’t have to imagine.
According to a report, the Trail Blazers’ collection of new faces has already reported to the team’s training facility three full weeks ahead of the official opening of camp.
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The Oregonian reported the entire team was at the practice facility in suburban Tualatin last week, working out and playing 5-on-5 scrimmages.
“Since we have such a young team and guys are trying to learn the system and get used to playing with each other, that factors into why we’re here so early,” guard C.J. McCollum said. “We’re just hungry to play. A lot of guys are young and excited for the chance to prove themselves.”
Even rehabilitating players such as Gerald Henderson, acquired from the Hornets in the Batum deal, are in the mix. Henderson is at the facility, getting to know teammates and undergoing treatment as he recovers from hip surgery.
McCollum says he was told by veterans he knows around the league that the team showing up Labor Day was “too early.”
He also didn’t care what they thought.
“Obviously with the change in identity with the team, Dame being the cornerstone with the franchise, our organization kind of building around him in the 23 to 27 (age) range. … We felt like it was important for us to get acquainted with each other.”
The Blazers have been a playoff team each of the last two years, but pundits are all but writing off Portland this season with 80 percent of its starting lineup from the last two years now wearing other uniforms.
The players arranged a gathering in San Diego the week before Labor Day, spending almost a week hanging out and having fun.
When they got back to Portland, the unofficial practices began.
McCollum said Lillard has been the driving force behind it all.
“He was the point guard as a rookie starting three years in a row, 82 games,” McCollum said. “They gave him the keys and he’s earned it and he’s proven himself on a day-to-day basis. I don’t see that his leadership is going to significantly change when he’s been leading this entire time.”
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The only player not in attendance was veteran Mike Miller, acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers in a salary-dump trade and a likely candidate to be waived before ever donning a Portland jersey.
The organization will be asking a lot more of younger players such as McCollum, Allen Crabbe, Tim Frazier and Meyers Leonard in the wake of the offseason departures.
Many of the new additions are of the younger variety, such as big men Mason Plumlee, Ed Davis and Noah Vonleh. Other young players such as Maurice Harkless, Phil pressey and rookie Pat Connaughton are also in the mix now.
The biggest challenge for a team that undergoes such an extreme summer makeover is establishing some sense of cohesiveness.
A month’s head start? That’s not going to hurt that process.
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