Portland Trail Blazers: Underrated winners of the offseason

They may not have made the headlines, but the Portland Trail Blazers added several key pieces to better complement their proven core.

The Portland Trail Blazers have long been carried through the years by a dynamic backcourt duo in Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, both equally adept at logic-defying hot-streaks that can cover up whatever deficiencies may compliment them.

For what seems like the longest time, those weaknesses where just about every other aspect of the roster. Those surrounding Lillard and McCollum weren’t without their own set of skills.

Rather, the construction of the roster was devoid of any sensible fit, limiting Portland’s ceiling even after having recently made the Western Conference Finals.

These past few weeks were a hectic time filled with some of the most player movement in NBA history. All is forgiven if among the flurry of Woj bombs you weren’t paying attention to the transactions going on in the Pacific Northwest.

A closer look, however, shows that the Blazers did plenty to improve a perennial playoff contender.

Even before solidifying the center position with Jusuf Nurkic, Portland’s long-standing weakness had been its forward slots.

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Starters Al Farouq-Aminu and Moe Harkless were fine talents. With career 3-point percentages of 33.7 and 32.3, respectively, neither could be counted on to hit an open shot, much less take control of the offense.

The Blazers had tried to remedy their lack of ballhandlers by bringing in Evan Turner in the summer of 2016. Exorbitant contract aside, it was a pairing that never made sense despite his playmaking abilities.

Here was a guy who, with a career 29.6 3-point percentage, couldn’t function off the ball. Giving him full reign of the offense required a specific set of on-court teammates Portland didn’t have to accentuate his talents.

That is, of course, unless Terry Stotts wanted one or both of CJ or Dame to play off the ball, limiting their overall effectiveness in the process.

In a combined 11 seasons between that trio, there have only been two such instances of double-figure scoring averages. Over the last four seasons, the lack of offensive productivity hasn’t hampered the Blazers’ regular-season success with an average win total of 46.8.

Come playoff time, teams force the ball from the hands of Portland’s backcourt and dare anyone else to beat them, which has led to some ugly postseason losses.

Despite coming off their first conference finals appearance since 2000, the Blazers were among many looking to take advantage of a finished dynasty.

With the Golden State Warriors no longer the prohibitive favorites out West, a few teams believe they are the rightful heir to the conference throne.

The first order of business for Portland was re-signing Rodney Hood, an athletic wing who played a big part in the team’s postseason success, having averaged 14.7 points per game on 57.6 percent shooting in the conference semis.

Now set to have a full training camp, expect Stotts to properly integrate Hood into the offense for even better use.

Then came a simple player swap with the Atlanta Hawks that brought in Kent Bazemore in exchange for Turner.

While not a money-saving move, Bazemore is a far better complimentary piece, an energetic perimeter defender who has grown to become a reliable outside shooter at 35.2 percent for his career.

Anthony Tolliver and Mario Hezonja were two under-the-radar signings to help bolster the second-unit. Tolliver has long been a stretch-4 with a career 37.6 3-point percentage.

Alongside two dominant shot creators who face their share of nightly double teams, the 11-year veteran is bound to make defenses pay.

Despite his underwhelming numbers, Hezonja seemed to have found something towards the end of the season as a point forward for the New York Knicks, averaging 18.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists a night.

Say what you will about the validity of those numbers across four April games on a 17-win team. On a two-year deal — with a player option — worth the minimum, it was a risk worth taking to see if it could materialize into next year.

With Nurkic set to miss an extended period after his gruesome leg injury suffered last March, the Blazers went out and got Hassan Whiteside in exchange for Harkless and Meyers Leonard.

Whiteside is a bit of a headcase, but there’s no denying his abilities in the mold of Clint Capela and Rudy Gobert that could serve Portland well in Nurkic’s absence as well as during his re-acclamation to the court.

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Turner is down in Atlanta. Aminu is even further having signed with the Orlando Magic. Harkless and Leonard are now members of the Miami Heat.

In their place are guys better suited for the requirements of a complementary piece in 2019, able to shoot from beyond the arc, put the ball on the floor and protect the bucket.

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Given the seismic changes that occurred in Los Angeles over the offseason, the Blazers still probably reside a notch below the true title-contending teams.

Where they lie isn’t as important as understanding their place compared to even just months ago, a more fluid bunch, yet still with stars that won’t hesitate to compete with some of the best the NBA has to offer.

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