Portland Trail Blazers: Reviewing a big week of offseason moves
Neil Olshey, Portland Trail Blazers General Manager.
After a few key trades and free agent signings this week, the Portland Trail Blazers are primed for a Pacific Division title.
Wow! the Portland Trail Blazers draft and free-agent signing period went much better than any Rip City fan could hope for. I’d say Christmas came early for Blazers fans. There could still be some more moves made by the organization before the season starts, but they’re probably done for now. Portland head into the new season in a prime position to contend for the Northwest Division title.
The Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz are the only teams to really pose a threat to the Blazers’ division title hopes. Oklahoma City is starting their rebuild, and Minnesota is still in their rebuild from when Kevin Garnett was traded to Boston. Denver may be the favorite, but the smart money is on the Blazers to win the Northwest.
Familiar Faces
The Blazers re-signed forwards Carmelo Anthony and Rodney Hood while also trading for center Enes Kanter from Boston. None of these deals are difference-makers, but they are high-quality depth moves. The signings and trade should allow the Blazers to play their style of basketball longer in games with much less of a drop off in productivity.
I’ve been advocating that the Blazers bring Melo back, and I’m glad they did. Last season he was a helpful teammate and a clutch player. The future Hall of Famer heads Portland’s second unit.
Kanter is a close replica of Hassan Whiteside. Enes the Menace brings low post scoring and rebounding prowess to a team that was lacking in both areas. He is a very good offensive rebounder, which means extra possessions for Damian Lillard and company. That’s always good. Much like Whiteside, Kanter is not a steady three-point shooter, so he probably won’t play alongside Jusuf Nurkic much.
Portland also returns Hood and his streaky offensive production. It would be great if he can be more consistent. At 28-years-old, it’s unlikely. The bigger hope is that Hood’s Achilles tear hasn’t absorbed too much of his athletic and explosive ability. All signs point to the six-year veteran making successful progress in his recovery. He should be able to contribute to this team. Maybe not right off the bad as Hood gets back into game shape, but by the end of the season, he’ll be a big part of coach Terry Stotts’ rotation.