Ready to be very patient so as not to sell off Damian Lillard on the transfer market, Joe Cronin and the “front office” of the Blazers are still in a rather uncomfortable situation at the moment. Despite this huge sword of “Lady-ocles” over their heads, the Blazers must continue to look ahead and juggle a multitude of scenarios in order to present a solid workforce at the start of the next school year.
And this while several major pieces of their roster, Damian Lillard therefore but also Jusuf Nurkic or even Anfernee Simons, do not yet know what their future will hold…
Continue to advance
“Our goal is to keep moving forward”assures the GM in The Oregonian. “We still believe we have a lot of talent. We have these two young players – Jerami (Grant) and Matisse (Thybulle) – who are very good exteriors and we have other players already in place. And others that we will add. »
With a workforce that should logically move by the end of the summer, Joe Cronin says that the extensions of Jerami Grant and Matisse Thybulle are only a first step in building the team.
For his part, Chauncey Billups is also satisfied to be able to count on the duo Grant / Thybulle on the winger positions, with their versatility and experience, especially in defense.
“All I believe in as a coach, and even as a former player, is what they embody”adds the coach. “They are selfless. They accept feedback. They can both be good in attack as well as defense. All good teams need players like them. »
At least two veterans in their ranks
Landed during the season from Philadelphia, with 22 appearances as a starter, and an encouraging 39% from 3-point range, Matisse Thybulle had almost left for Dallas before the Blazers matched the offer from the Mavs. Something to delight the former college of Washington, comfortable in the North West of the United States!
“I arrived here and immediately got a bigger role than I had before. It was a really good feeling and a golden opportunity for me to show myself even more,” appreciate the Aussie. “It’s a process that will happen naturally. The team will grow together. Each of the guys will grow individually and we will also develop our unity as a team. »
A young team with some veterans already in place, the Blazers obviously have a lot of decisions to make between now and the opening of training camps next October. The double presence of Jerami Grant and Matisse Thybulle gives them a semblance of direction… while waiting for better!
“We really appreciate these guys and what they can do for the team,” concludes Chauncey Billups. “Being able to keep them gives us confidence for the future and it also makes me happy because we have young players and these veterans will help me grow them. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Damian Lillard | 58 | 36.3 | 46.3 | 37.1 | 91.4 | 0.8 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 7.3 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 32.2 |
| Anfernee Simons | 62 | 35.0 | 44.7 | 37.7 | 89.4 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 21.1 |
| Jerami Grant | 63 | 35.6 | 47.5 | 40.1 | 81.3 | 0.8 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 20.5 |
| Skylar Mays | 6 | 31.5 | 50.0 | 46.2 | 92.3 | 0.3 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 8.3 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 15.3 |
| Jusuf Nurkic | 52 | 26.8 | 51.9 | 36.1 | 66.1 | 2.2 | 6.9 | 9.1 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 3.6 | 13.3 |
| Cam Reddish | 20 | 27.6 | 44.3 | 31.8 | 83.3 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 11.0 |
| Nate Williams, Jr. | 5 | 25.3 | 61.5 | 37.5 | 66.7 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 10.6 |
| Shaedon Sharpe | 80 | 22.2 | 47.2 | 36.0 | 71.4 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 9.9 |
| Josh Hart | 51 | 33.4 | 50.4 | 30.4 | 73.1 | 1.9 | 6.3 | 8.2 | 3.9 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 9.5 |
| Shaquille Harrison | 5 | 24.0 | 41.7 | 30.0 | 73.3 | 0.2 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 6.0 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 8.8 |
| Kevin Knox | 21 | 17.1 | 44.4 | 31.4 | 74.1 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 8.5 |
| Matisse Thybulle | 22 | 27.7 | 43.8 | 38.8 | 62.5 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 7.4 |
| Trendon Watford | 62 | 19.1 | 56.0 | 39.1 | 72.0 | 0.7 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 7.4 |
| Comanche Luck | 1 | 20.8 | 60.0 | 0.0 | 25.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 7.0 |
| Justise Winslow | 29 | 26.8 | 40.9 | 31.1 | 71.4 | 1.7 | 3.3 | 5.0 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 6.8 |
| Nassir Little | 54 | 18.1 | 44.2 | 36.7 | 71.7 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 6.6 |
| Drew Eubanks | 78 | 20.3 | 64.1 | 38.9 | 66.4 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 5.4 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 6.6 |
| Keon Johnson | 40 | 10.4 | 37.6 | 34.6 | 65.9 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 4.7 |
| Justin Minaya | 4 | 22.2 | 30.4 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 4.3 |
| Gary Payton II | 15 | 17.0 | 58.5 | 52.9 | 100.0 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 4.1 |
| Jabari Walker | 56 | 11.1 | 41.9 | 28.6 | 75.6 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 3.9 |
| Ryan Arcidiacono | 9 | 16.2 | 25.0 | 35.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 2.6 |
| John Butler | 19 | 11.6 | 32.1 | 22.9 | 75.0 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 2.4 |
| Greg Brown III | 16 | 5.8 | 39.3 | 14.3 | 41.7 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.8 |
