Portland Trail Blazers looking ahead to the offseason: Part 1 – Neil Olshey
Rob Ryan
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This is part one of a three-part series on possible changes to the Portland Trail Blazers during the offseason. Today we look at GM Neil Olshey.
Editors note: I’ll ask it for you: Why are we looking at the offseason when this season isn’t close to over? Answer: Because it’s obvious the Portland Trail Blazers have plenty of work left to reach the upper elite teams in the NBA.
Some may think Portland Trail Blazers President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Neil Olshey might be on the hot seat if the team doesn’t reach the Western Conference Finals. Think again.
Since coming over from the Clippers in 2012, Portland Trail Blazers President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Neil Olshey is one of the best executives in the NBA. His ability to evaluate talent, draft, and make trades is a big reason why the Blazers made the playoffs seven straight seasons.
Drafts
It’s hard to overlook Olshey drafting the possibly the best player in Trail Blazers franchise history, Damian Lillard. He also drafted players that wound up overachieving expectations. His track record goes from Lillard and CJ McCollum across the board to countless second-round successes such as Gary Trent Jr, Will Barton, Allen Crabbe, Pat Connaughton, and Jake Layman. They certainly outweigh draft flops like Meyers Leonard and Caleb Swanigan.
Deals
Olshey pulled off quite a few value trades, such as obtaining Robin Lopez, Moe Harkless, Shabazz Napier, Mason Plumlee, Rodney Hood, and Enes Kanter (2020). He also didn’t shy away from rolling the dice on larger, expensive trades. He made great moves by bringing Jusuf Nurkic, Hassan Whiteside, Robert Covington, and Norman Powell to Rip City.
UFAs
When he’s seen a player who fits what the Blazers need, Olshey signed on the dotted line. There were the unexpected signings of Enes Kanter (2019), Carmelo Anthony, and Mo Williams that paid dividends. Not to mention solid signings of Ed Davis, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Derrick Jones Jr.
Few negatives
Even though Neil has yet to make the huge splash Portland Trail Blazers fans have wanted, he’s also dodged monumental failures. The Arron Afflalo trade didn’t quite work in hindsight, and the Nicolas Batum trade didn’t net much long-term roster impact. Then again, neither deal sunk the team either.
There were also some poor contracts given in the summer of 2016. Though, Portland really only had the option of retaining its own players. The Blazers swung and missed on nearly every free agent they pursued that summer.
Outlook
No matter how poorly the team finishes down the stretch, it’s unlikely Portland Trail Blazers ownership lets Olshey go. There are only two scenarios where he might be out of a job. 1) There’s an obvious upgrade at GM available; even then, Olshey still retains his President of Basketball Operations title. 2) If he is unwilling to make coaching changes in the wake of a team collapse.
Neil Olshey gives scouting report on Blazers new guard Norman Powell pic.twitter.com/fANAVeY49k
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) March 26, 2021
Do you agree that Neil Olshey isn’t going anywhere even if the team fails to make a decent playoff push? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.