Portland Trail Blazers: 1 Fork in the Road 2 Directions
Andrew Elderbaum
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The Portland Trail Blazers are about to head into a transformative season for the franchise. So what are they planning to become?
Portland Trail Blazers General Manager Joe Cronin seems to be following a bad blueprint for building a team.
Growing up a Knicks fan has made me a connoisseur of ineptitude. Whether it be at the player, coach, GM, or ownership level. I mean, they were a team that thought a Steve Francis/ Stephon Marbury backcourt would lead them to a championship.
They also made “Truck Party” a national catchphrase. However, the strangest thing they did was build a roster around five guys who essentially played the same position about four years ago. Unfortunately for Rip City, it seems like Cronin is trying the same thing.
Right now, the Portland Trail Blazers’ primary rotation looks to be built around Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons, Jusuf Nurkic, Jerami Grant, and a bunch of guys who are all undersized wings. Josh Hart, Nassir Little, and Gary Payton are all 6’5″ or smaller and essentially play the same spot.
Then there’s also their lottery pick Shaedon Sharpe, who gives head coach Chauncey Billups maybe another inch in height. But he’s cut from the same cloth as the other guys, just more of a high-upside project.
Among the other players who might get minutes is Justise Winslow, who four other franchises gave up on. Trenton Waterford is a player that’s fine as a 10th man but not the team’s first big off the bench. And finally, Drew Eubanks. He scored some scoring potential while getting a ton of minutes on a bad team last year.
This isn’t exactly a bench mob that’s coming out and blowing away other team’s second units.
Chauncey Billups: "We have 4 guys that are gonna start for sure. The big question is the small forward spot. The way I see it, it's gonna play out in camp. There's three guys — Josh Hart, Nas and Justise. It's not about the best player, it's who plays best with that unit."
— Sean Highkin (@highkin) September 26, 2022