Chauncey Billups, Portland Trail Blazers.
This offseason seemed to have been very quiet for the Blazers. My first opinion was they didn’t do enough to make it out of the first round. But Damian Lillard believes in his team and is betting his legacy on it.
I wasn’t too excited about Chauncey Billups‘ hiring. But I was happily surprised after watching him during Summer League. He is forceful and unrelenting. Defense is his mantra, and he looked as though he had been doing this for some time. I can’t wait to see how that converts to coaching a Blazers’ team that was 29 out of 30 in defense last season.
Has Chauncey Billups found the answer to getting Portland out of the first round? It has never been the Blazers’ problem getting to the playoffs. Except for this past season, the Trail Blazers have been in the top five of their conference.
According to Billups, this has been a great training camp. The Blazers had the following players join them:
If these players can satisfy Billups’ needs for his team, maybe they will make the roster. I think he’s looking for fast-paced players who will be able to get back on defense as well as offense.
Although GM Neil Olshey gave away their draft picks, Portland got a promising rookie in Greg Brown III. They received the 43rd pick in the draft by trading the New Orleans Pelicans a future second-round pick, borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.
Greg Brown III – I watched this young man ball out in Summer League. Brown held his own against vets that played on the Portland roster this Summer. He hung on every word of his coach in practice. In my opinion, he’s a solid rookie.
Trendon Watford – Trendon Watford is an undrafted rookie who is a two-way player on a two-way contract. The 20-year-old also did well in Summer League.
Maybe the best deal of the offseason (after re-signing Norman Powell) was getting Larry Nance Jr. For a team with no money and nothing to trade; this was a great move. Nance is perfect for Chauncey Billups’ defense-first coaching.
I didn’t see much of Nance in Cleveland, but I can’t forget him as a Los Angeles Lakers player. In addition to scoring, Nance was stealing, getting the defensive rebounds, and making it very difficult for any team to defeat them.
The most important thing the Blazers had to do was re-sign Norman Powell. Olshey got it done. They also needed to get players that could assist Powell, Lillard, and McCollum. Under Billups, Powell will have a more significant role on the team. A function that will consist of him taking a lot more shots. About his new role, Powell had this to say, “I feel really part of the team, part of the organization. Starting to feel natural and normal to me. Getting into a routine, knowing exactly where I should be.”
The Blazers were able to pick up some bench players who could benefit the team down the road. Ben McLemore played just 53 games out of the shortened 72 games. He played for the injury-ridden Lakers last year. Cody Zeller was also a bench player whose talents will be greatly needed behind Jusuf Nurkic. Another bench player, Tony Snell, was also obtained by the Blazers. These players can prove valuable in Chauncey’s rotation.
I expect the Blazers will have a great season with the moves they made. Will this make the Blazers a better team in the postseason? Time will tell. That will depend on the new coach and his defensive plans. Monday, the Blazers will host the Golden State Warriors in their first preseason game.