Portland Trail Blazers: Biggest strengths and weaknesses for 2017-18

What are some strengths and weaknesses that define the Portland Trail Blazers heading into the 2017-18 season.

The 2016-17 Portland Trail Blazers endured quite the roller coaster season. The year started well, going 12-10 early on. However, injuries and stagnant play led to a 10-23 stretch midseason.

But the February acquisition of Jusuf Nurkic flipped a switch. The Blazers finished the year 18-8 for a break-even final record of 41-41. This surge carried them into the playoffs as an eighth seed. The team accomplished this even with Nurkic spending the final month sidelined with a right leg fracture.

Unfortunately, the ride ended with a sweep at the hands of the Golden State Warriors. While Portland attempted to compete, they were no match for the eventual world champions.

Heading into the offseason, it was important for the Blazers to improve in some manner. Doing so would require some ingenuity, as the team had three draft picks but zero cap space. Improvement became especially paramount considering the seismic transactions occurring throughout the Western Conference.

The Houston Rockets acquired one of the league’s top point guards in a blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves both picked up new All-Star caliber wings. At the same time, the Utah Jazz lost theirs in free agency to the Boston Celtics. Meanwhile, the Warriors and San Antonio Spurs were able to fortify their benches to remain the favorites in the West.

For Portland, their three draft picks became two well-regarded prospects that may or may not make an immediate impact. The team also made two salary-dumping trades, shipping Tim Quarterman to Houston and Allen Crabbe to the Brooklyn Nets.

So where does that leave the Portland Trail Blazers at this moment? What are some of their strengths and weaknesses as we inch closer to the start of training camp?