Portland shuffles supporting cast, but it’s still all about the guards
By Alec Liebsch
2019-20 roster
Key additions: Nassir Little (draft), Hassan Whiteside (trade), Kent Bazemore (trade), Anthony Tolliver (free agency), Mario Hezonja (free agency), Pau Gasol (free agency)
Key subtractions: Maurice Harkless (free agency), Al-Farouq Aminu (free agency), Meyers Leonard (trade), Evan Turner (trade), Jake Layman (trade)
Boy, did a lot change in Portland. Both starting forwards priced out of the team’s range, with Maurice Harkless going to the Clippers for four years and $40 million, and Al-Farouq Aminu heading to Orlando on a three year, $29 million deal. Both were valuable pieces for the Portland Trail Blazers over the past few seasons, but they had to find cheaper alternatives at those spots.
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Kent Bazemore isn’t monetarily cheaper, but he functionally only cost the team Evan Turner. The Hawks likely traded Bazemore as a favor to get him on a contender and the Blazers are reaping the benefits. Turner was solid in a vacuum, but not a great fit next to Damian Lillard or CJ McCollum.
Portland’s makeover was all about getting more shooting for their star duo and Bazemore hopes to build on the 36.5 percent clip he had from downtown between 2014-18. He’s also not a terrible defender, amassing 11.8 Defensive Win Shares and a plus-1.1 Defensive Box Plus-Minus in Atlanta. He is the favorite to start at the 3 for Portland.
Anthony Tolliver is not a name that glistens, but he’ll be a competent cog in the Blazers’ lineup. He’s been a quintessential stretch 4 for various teams, knocking down 39.3 percent of his 3.8 triples per game since 2013. A bit of a journeyman, Tolliver is playing for his ninth different team (he was in Portland in 2009-10) on a one-year veteran’s minimum deal.
Mario Hezonja has also seen multiple teams, but in significantly less time; this will be the Croatian’s third team in five NBA seasons. Hezonja has the talent and spunk to be a smooth scorer and playmaker on the wing, which theoretically adds another dimension to most guard or big-centric offenses.
The problem, though, is his decision-making. He tries to force it far too often, likely due to his exuberant personality. Portland has a history of making the most of undervalued players, and hopes to turn Hezonja into a useful piece.
Hassan Whiteside’s name far supersedes his value in today’s NBA. Though an above-average rim protector with the Miami Heat (second in block percentage last season at 7.3 percent), he’s only a threat vertically. He’s not laterally quick enough to survive switches and lacks the savvy to offset that weakness.
That intellect shows itself more on the offensive end, where he has a putrid 0.41 assist/turnover ratio since the 2015-16 season. When given high usage, he’s not helping the offense much. The Blazers are using him as a stopgap until Jusuf Nurkic is healthy, though it’s unclear when that will be.
Portland is was ahead of the curve in the “Big Two” movement that the rest of the league embraced this summer, but the depth around Lillard and McCollum doesn’t look promising. One injury to either of them could knock this team out of the playoffs entirely.