Portland Trail Blazers: Top 3 point guards available for expanded roster
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers.
NBA rosters will expand to 17 players for the restart in Orlando. The Portland Trail Blazers could use another point guard. These are the top available candidates.
There is a little over a week to go before preparations hit overdrive for the NBA 2019-20 season restart. Teams will carry an expanded roster with them to Orlando for the resumption of play. The Portland Trail Blazers have one spot open for the 17-man squad. That spot should go to another point guard. These are the best available candidates
So much is still left to be finalized for the NBA’s restart this summer. One thing the league and union have agreed to is the addition of a 17th man to each team. Portland has 16 players signed, so they have one spot open. According to The Athletic, there will be a mini free agency period from June 23 – 30 for teams to sign players who were on NBA or G-League teams this year or were in the available player pool when games were postponed due to COVID-19.
Portland needs more depth at the point guard spot for several reasons.
All season long, the Portland Trail Blazers have gone with one true point guard, Damian Lillard. While C.J. McCollum and Anfernee Simmons have done solid work filling in when necessary this season, neither is the answer for extended periods.
Currently occupying in ninth place in Western Conference, the Blazers can’t afford to go long stretches without a floor general. Lillard is one of the best in the world at what he does. The restart situation requires depth at the position.
It will take a while for players to get back into game shape. That includes Lillard. In the eight games Lillard missed this year, Portland suffered through a 2-6 record. A steady hand at the point could mitigate some of the damage should Lillard get hurt.
If Portland falls out of the running for the final playoff spot, why risk injury to Lillard? Worse, what if Lillard gets hurt? Head Coach Terry Stotz would likely sit many of his key players in those situations. The Trail Blazers would have no problem playing a temp as much as possible.