6 Things We’ve Learned About The Portland Trail Blazers
By Duncan Smith
This team might actually be too good
After the deep losses the Trail Blazers suffered to the roster this past offseason, losing Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez from the starting lineup to free agency to go with the departures of Aldridge and Batum, the Blazers loaded up on cheap short-term contracts that would give them future flexibility.
It was expected that these pieces would not contribute to immediate success, but instead Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum and friends have played out of their minds.
It’s great that they’ve overachieved to the degree that they have thus far, but it comes with a cost. If the Blazers make the playoffs and finish outside of the bottom 14 teams in the NBA, their first-round pick in June’s draft goes to the Denver Nuggets.
So there is a benefit to missing the playoffs, although it’s a slim one, especially considering the same scenario is in place for the 2017 draft as well, meaning that if the Blazers make the playoffs in the 2016-17 season, the Nuggets get their pick if they don’t get it for this season.
Another consideration is that a playoff trip for this young group may overshadow the value of a first-round draft pick in what is a thin draft after you get past the first few picks, which the Blazers would be highly unlikely to get even if they missed the playoffs.
While the Blazers may not have followed the plan for this season by losing but being fun to watch while doing so, they may have just jumped a few years ahead of the schedule that was laid out.
Next: Good In The Clutch