Key additons: Dan Gadzuric (C), Jared Jeffries (F), Sasha Pavlovic (G), Damon Lillard (6th overall, G), Meyers Leonard, (11th overall, C)
When Oakland native Damian Lillard was selected by the Trailblazers with the 6th pick this past draft, howls of discontent poured forth from the blogosphere. The 6’3” guard was relatively unknown before the draft due to his having played for Weber State in the Big Sky Conference, and fans and pundits alike wondered why Portland would waste their valuable pick on a shoot-first point guard with so much talent still on the draft-board. By the end of the summer, Lillard was the co-MVP of the NBA Summer League and was already being discussed as a possible Rookie of the Year candidate.
Whether Lillard outshines Anthony Davis and the other top rookies is still anyone’s guess it is clear the Blazers drafted wisely. In fact, taken as a whole the moves the team made this summer were impressive and showed vision on the part of management. Still, this team has a long way to go before it can be considered a member of the league’s elite.
That Lillard can score is already clear, but how many other weapons does this Portland team have? The Blazers possess a top-15 player in forward LaMarcus Aldridge (21.7PPG-8RPG-22.73PER), a player who gets little national attention but who puts up huge numbers year after year. If Aldridge were playing in New York he would be world famous, but as it is he plays in lovely, rainy Portland on a roster filled with other relative unknowns. Aldridge is of course well regarded by opposing teams who have to this point been unable to figure out a way to guard him. Their primary approach has been to send two and three defender his way, a strategy which is untenable when his teammates hit from the outside. Unfortunately during his tenure in Portland Aldridge’s teammates have been inconsistent.
Shooting guard Wesley Matthews (13.7PPG-1.7APG-3.4RPG-14PER) can score and should help take pressure off Aldridge with his steady three point shooting. Portland would like to acquire more deep threats in order to open the floor but they may not have enough pieces to get a deal done this season.
The Blazers do have some of size with J.J. Hickson, Dan Gadzuric, rookie Meyers Leonard and Jared Jeffries (who plays bigger than his height would suggest) all competing for playing time in the front court, but the Blazers lack a dominant center. Portland has indicated that they would like to go small, one route to sucess in today’s NBA but only for teams with versatile players who can play several positions.
Nicolas Batum (13.9PPG-1.4APG-4.6RPG-17.32PER), the 6’8” French forward, may some day develop into the kind of Swiss-army knife wing player who would allow coach Terry Stotts to design more complicated offensive schemes and unleash small ball in the Rose City. Who needs big men and their bad feet/knees? The Blazers obviously have high hopes for Batum: this summer they signed him to a four year contract worth $44.6 million. That’s a lot of money to make the painful memories of the Oden era disappear, and perhaps too much for a player who only showed flashes of brilliance last season. On paper, the Blazers look lottery bound. There simply doesn’t seem to be enough talent in Portland yet, but you never know: as Lillard showed this summer sometime help comes from the most unexpected places.
Reason for optimism: J.J. Hickson looked very good last season, look for him to contribute in a big way.
Reason for despair: Did you see Batum play this summer at the Olympics? If not, you didn’t miss much.
Projected record: 39-43