The Portland Trail Blazers covered some short-term financial needs this summer and set themselves up for a big move once the trade deadline comes around, but will their current roster keep them in playoff contention in the West?
Always playing the role of the young, hard-nosed, energetic underdog, the Portland Trail Blazers have continually been one of my favorite playoff teams in the NBA. But in this new age of NBA “super teams,” it’s tough trying to envision Portland making the postseason for what would have been the fifth year in a row.
Sure, the Blazers arguably didn’t lose anything substantial this year. They retained their dynamic backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, and Jusuf Nurkic — whom the Blazers acquired at the deadline — is on the right track to start the year healthy after going down just moments before the postseason.
Yet when you look at the other bottom-feeders in the West, each of them have made moves this offseason to better their roster: the Oklahoma City Thunder added Paul George, the Minnesota Timberwolves added Jimmy Butler and the Denver Nuggets added Paul Millsap.
Hell, even news of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope going to the Los Angeles Lakers and Danilo Gallinari going to the Los Angeles Clippers made headlines. Then of course, the Houston Rockets signed Chris Paul, and the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs are still very much at the top of the food chain.
Additionally, the teams that pulled off these transactions retained some workable flexibility should they want to make a move later in the season. The Portland Trail Blazers, on the other hand, didn’t make any headline trades or signings, and their options remain rather limited going into the season.
Let’s take a look at what the Blazers did this offseason and analyze the short-term and long-term effects of these decisions.
Drafting Zach Collins
When the Portland Trail Blazers traded the 15th and 20th pick of the 2017 NBA Draft to the Sacramento Kings for the 10th overall pick, I was ecstatic. When they drafted Zach Collins with that pick, I admit that I was…a lot less ecstatic.
Nevertheless, I continued to keep an open mind, knowing full well that there was a lot to like about Collins’ skill-set and that he was still relatively unproven compared to the rest of his peers.
Then he went into the 2017 Las Vegas Summer League, and everything went to s**t.
Needless to say, but Collins underperformed a great deal this summer in Vegas. He had what he admitted to be a “terrible” debut, which he followed up with another poor performance before going down with an injury in the team’s last game of the preliminary round.
When his team began to win games with him on the bench, it became clear that Collins was unlikely to be an immediate contributor this season. For a team that may end up being at the bottom of the playoff tree once again this year, this wasn’t exactly the best revelation.
The Portland Trail Blazers don’t need “potential” right now — they NEED production. Collins has a skill-set that could prove useful later down the road, but as of right now, he’s dead weight taking up a roster spot on a team that needs all the help it can get in a tough Western Conference.
Drafting Caleb Swanigan
If my life and the lives of my entire family were on the line and I was forced to choose one of the players from this year’s Blazers Summer League squad to play on my behalf, I would — without any doubt in my mind — choose Caleb Swanigan.
That may sound like one of those ESPN statistics that are unnecessarily specific so that it fits a particular narrative, but if there’s one thing that Swanigan proved this summer, it’s that he was an absolute steal in this year’s draft.
Averaging 16.1 points and 10.6 rebounds, he was a double-double machine this summer in Las Vegas, unexpectedly helping lead his team to the 2017 NBA Summer League tournament championship game.
While the Blazers eventually took the L to Lonzo Ball and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Summer League squad, Swanigan proved himself NBA-ready, which was by far the best takeaway from this summer in Vegas.
Trading Tim Quarterman
The Portland Trail Blazers traded backup guard Tim Quarterman to the Houston Rockets for cash considerations on June 28, and news of the trade wouldn’t have made headlines had it not been for the savvy Blazers social media team tweeting out this particular gem:
"This trade is a blessing. I'm ready to grind, Rip City. I think I can make an immediate impact out on the floor." -- Cash Considerations pic.twitter.com/iRkC5vfwps
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) June 28, 2017
The tweet, which parodied the way the NBA goes about press conferences following a big-time signing or trade, was well received by the NBA Twittersphere. Additionally, it helped keep the Blazers relevant in an otherwise quiet offseason.
The trade itself had a couple of long-term consequences, starting with the fact that trading away Quarterman for nothing but cash freed up some cap space on a team with limited financial flexibility. His non-guaranteed $1.31 million was hardly taking up space on the books, but as I said in my original reaction on the matter, “every little bit helps.”
It also freed up a roster spot. At the time, the Blazers had 16 players, and only 14 of those were guaranteed contracts. Getting rid of Quarterman brought the roster back down to 15, thereby narrowing the pool of players the Blazers have to decide on bringing back for the 2017-18 season.
Dumping Allen Crabbe
The Portland Trail Blazers dug their own grave financially last year: They signed Evan Turner to that humungous contract, they re-signed Moe Harkless and Meyers Leonard to contracts they arguably don’t deserve, and they matched the ridiculous offer sheet from the Brooklyn Nets concerning Allen Crabbe.
Something had to give this summer if the Blazers wanted to avoid paying the luxury tax for a subpar roster. Unfortunately, it was Crabbe that got the axe.
On paper, the Blazers trade away one of the most efficient three-point shooters in the NBA. In addition, Crabbe was a growing part of Terry Stotts’ system, continuing to improve each year since he was drafted.
Nevertheless, trading away Crabbe’s $56 million contract to Brooklyn (which is where he would have ended up last year had Neil Olshey not matched) was the right move for Portland’s long-term future.
The Blazers had absolutely no business having one of the highest payrolls in the NBA last season, and they have no absolutely no business paying the luxury tax this season. As their roster stands right now, the Blazers aren’t a title contender in the West, and they are arguably on the outside looking in when it comes to the 2018 postseason.
Portland remains in luxury tax territory, but shedding Crabbe’s contract drops their eventual tax hit from $48.3 million to just $4.4 million. The Blazers also end up generating a $12.9 million trade exception, which they’ll likely use at the trade deadline to help bolster their roster in time for the playoffs.
Signing C.J. Wilcox to a two-way contract
The Portland Trail Blazers recently signed C.J. Wilcox to a two-way contract, making Wilcox the first two-way contract in franchise history.
Though Wilcox wasn’t the biggest name on the market, the Blazers get points for inexpensively signing a player with NBA experience. Wilcox last played for the Orlando Magic after being drafted by and playing for the Los Angeles Clippers. He also spent time in the NBA G League.
The NBA two-way contract adds two roster spots in addition to the usual 15, bringing the maximum amount of players that can be on the roster at any time to 17. Players on two-way contracts, however, will spend much of their time during the season in the G League.
By signing Wilcox to a two-way contract, they add backcourt depth for pennies on the dollar. He ends up being a high-risk, high-reward signing.
Overall
On paper, the Portland Trail Blazers didn’t make any big moves to help distinguish themselves among the elite in the NBA’s Western Conference, but they also didn’t lose a star in free agency or make a poor trade.
In the draft, the Blazers selected a rookie that projects to be a solid NBA mainstay, but they also selected a rookie that may end up being quite the project.
Financially, Rip City freed up some salary cap space and generated a useful trade exception, but they failed to get completely clear of the luxury tax and remain limited.
In the end, the Blazers didn’t get any better, nor did they get any worse. While that would normally be an accomplishment for any competitive NBA team, the fact that there were some game-changing moves in the Western Conference this summer jeopardizes Portland’s playoff aspirations this year.
Best-case scenario: The Blazers nab a productive player at the trade deadline to help bolster a much-improved supporting cast and a much-improved core of Lillard, McCollum and Nurkic, all the while remaining healthy throughout the season.
Next: Golden State Warriors - Complete 2017 offseason grades
If the Blazers fail to improve internally and/or remain healthy this season, it’s unlikely they attract a productive player at the trade deadline, which could very well end being the deciding factor come time for their final playoff push.