The Portland Trail Blazers have been in the midst of a rebuild since trading Damian Lillard last season. The team boasts a lot of young players with potential, such as Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson, Donovan Clingan, and others.
However, the team has a lot of redundancy on the roster and it is holding the team back from fully developing their young core and has led to concern about their crop of young players.
The Portland Trail Blazers need to make sweeping changes at the trade deadline.
For starters, they have three big men in Clingan, DeAndre Ayton, and Robert Williams, who all do the same thing: rebound, rim protect, and be great pick-and-roll partners, and they cannot space the floor. It is malpractice to have three big men of the same archetype in a nightly rotation.
Clingan was their lottery pick, and he is only playing 17 minutes a night despite some solid play. He should be closer to 25 minutes per game, as he needs those valuable in-game reps to tap into his potential and see what he can be for Portland long-term. However, he should see an uptick in minutes too, given Ayton’s inconsistent efforts on a nightly basis and Clingan’s superior defensive chops.
In addition to that, the Blazers have a very crowded backcourt rotation that features Sharpe, Henderson, and Anfernee Simons. That’s three guards that all need the ball in their hands, and that clogs up the offense. Simons' inefficient play takes away opportunities from Henderson and Sharpe, and he does not fit this young core’s timeline.
The Blazers must choose their path forward.
When Simons is off the court, the Blazers' net rating is -4.9, compared to -12.6 when he is on the court. Lineups that feature Sharpe and Henderson with Simons off the court are at a -1.2 rating. Simons on the court with either Sharpe or Henderson is not as effective as well.
Simons and Henderson have a -21.0 net rating together, and Simons and Sharpe have a net rating of -14.8. The net ratings are negative no matter what, but there is a clear better choice in regards to backcourt combinations.
Lastly, Jerami Grant is another player who does not fit the timeline of the young core and takes opportunities away from younger wings like Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, and even Sharpe. The team has a -2.4 net rating with Grant off the court, compared to -12.9 when he’s off. Grant has been wildly inefficient this season, shooting below 40 percent from the field and a 52 percent true shooting percentage.
Trading away Simons, Grant, and Ayton for better assets to assist with their rebuild should be Portland’s priority as the trade deadline approaches. They have to choose a direction so they can stop compromising the development of their young core.