The average age of the Blazers last season was 24.6, making them the second youngest team in the league, and it showed in their record. A 21-61 record wasn’t a surprise to most after the yard sale last offseason that saw Damian Lillard, Jusuf Nurkic, and Nassir Little traded. The season was also riddled with injuries such as second year star Shaedon Sharpe, who only played 32 games. Guard Anfernee Simons played only 46 games as well, leaving rookie Scoot Henderson and veteran guard Malcom Brogdon to play a good portion of the season. Only two players on the Blazers played 70 or more of the 82 games. It was a season entirely dedicated to letting the young players on the team get NBA experience with no pressure on winning games. Players like Scoot Henderson, Toumani Camara, Jabari Walker, and Duop Reath all benefited from the disappointing season and showed lots of potential.
Blazers General Manager Joe Cronin and company made it their priority to get even younger this offseason, trading away the only player over the age of 30, Malcolm Brogdon, to the Washington Wizards. Draft day was a busy one for Portland, using their seventh pick to draft seven foot two inch center Donovan Clingan out of the University of Connecticut, for some much needed rim protection. The Blazers allowed the highest two point shot percentage in the league last season, so getting Clingan is very helpful. The Blazers also had the 14th pick from the Golden State Warriors, which they used to trade for wing Deni Avdija. In exchange for that pick, the Wizards got Malcolm Brogdon, a 2029 first round pick, and two second round picks in the future. Since then, the Blazers had a quiet offseason, besides notably signing veteran guard Devonte’ Graham.
I spoke to Radio Host Danny Marang about the Blazers offseason. He spoke positively, saying, “I really thought they did as well as they could in their situation. They’ve wanted Avdija for a while and tried to get him at the trade deadline and I think they got a good deal on him.” He also had good things to say about Clingan, stating, “Offensively he’s a little rough but his defense is great, he could really help turn the corner defensively.” In the NBA Summer League, Clingan set the record for most blocks per game with 4.3 blocks per game, beating out last season’s rookie of the year, Victor Wembanyama.
One of the biggest questions of this offseason is how well some of the youth in Portland will do, most notably Scoot Henderson. The 19-year-old showed flashes of former NBA Most Valuable Player Russell Westbrook-esqe greatness, but for the most part, had a rough rookie year. Henderson had the worst field goal percentage in the NBA among qualified players at 38.5%, according to Basketball Reference. I asked Marang what kind of changes Henderson needs to make to improve and he had an optimistic viewpoint, stating, “For [Henderson], it’s all small changes. In the G-League (a developmental league designed to allow players with less playing time, a chance to showcase their talent) he wasn’t facing seven footers and we saw him start to adjust. And [as] for the shooting, that’s a quick fix and he’s been working with Dame’s old trainer this offseason, I see a big jump [coming for] him this year.” Shaedon Sharpe is another young guard with high expectations for the next season. Sharpe had a strong sophomore campaign last season averaging 16 points, five rebounds, and three assists in 32 games before a hamstring injury sidelined him for the rest of the year. Sharpe has shown plenty of scoring prowess, after the Blazers drafted him at number seven in 2022, and most think that if he can stay healthy it will be a strong season for him.
Another big subject on Blazers fans radar has been the future of center Deandre Ayton, and head coach Chauncy Billups. I asked Trey Owens, Franklin senior and varsity basketball player, what he thinks of Deandre Ayton; he said, “The Blazers drafting a center with the seventh pick means Cronin doesn’t believe Ayton is a long term solution. If we don’t believe in Ayton long term, we shouldn’t keep him around while he takes playing time from our rookie center.” Owens, like many Blazers fans, believes that Clingan is the sign that Ayton has overstayed his welcome, however some fans believe it’s a new opportunity for him. “People forget, Deandre Ayton anchored a defense that made an NBA finals, he definitely has strengths that can benefit this team,” said Marang. He continues, saying,“Clingan is an absolute monster at seven [feet] two [inches and], 280 pounds and he’s not going to be able to play 30 minutes a game at that height, but Ayton has shown he can play those types of minutes.” Ayton has averaged 31 minutes per game in his career and averaged 32.4 last season.
In the case of Billups, many fans have started calling for his job as in three seasons with the Blazers Billups has a record of 81-165, giving him a win percentage of 32.9%. However, fans can’t put all the blame on the coach without the context that is the rosters he’s had under him since being hired as the Blazers coach. His first season saw Lillard play only 29 injury hampered games before undergoing season ending surgery and the trade deadline firesale of CJ McCollum, Norman Powell and Robert Covington. The next season wasn’t much better; Lillard played 58 games but sat out the remaining as the team was struggling mightily with a young roster composed of rookies and free agent pickups. His third season, last season, was a season that came with few expectations. Marang shared his thoughts on Billups, saying, “This is the last year in his contract and I think it’s a slim chance he’s the coach of the Portland Trail Blazers this time next year. However, I don’t really blame him cause this isn’t what he signed up for. He was hired when the Blazers were still going for playoffs and it all fell apart under him.”
With the start of the season approaching, many have started predicting how they think the Blazers will finish the season, and although it varies, many fans aren’t super positive about the Blazers’ chances. “They’re gonna be bad this year. I can’t see them winning more than 25 [games],” said Marang. Meanwhile, Owens thinks the Blazers have a shot at the play-in, a tournament between the eighth, ninth, and tenth seeds for the last playoff spot: “I think we have a chance to push towards a bottom playoff spot in the play-in, like somewhere around 41-41.” This season carries a lot of uncertainty with it, but most Blazers fans aren’t expecting a championship trophy in Portland this season.
