In Oregon, the post-Dame Time is happening without looking at the clock. Portland has fully immersed itself in a new cycle and is still only working on the foundations.
The summer was rather quiet this time for the Blazers, with the idea of finally being able to build with the current group, which collected stays in the infirmary last season. Between Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, Deandre Ayton, Scoot Henderson, or Jerami Grant, all the major players in the squad missed between 20 and 50 games. It was therefore time for changes in homeopathic doses rather than a new upheaval as the 2023/24 season will have been able to deliver few truths about this squad.
This may have saved the head of Chauncey Billups, who is already starting his fourth season on the bench and will be out of contract at the end of this exercise. It is now time to move up a gear and clarify the playing identity of this team before thinking about making it win.
The roster is interesting, full of promising players, although unbalanced. The lack of creators was partly offset by the trade to bring in Deni Avdija on the wing, and to leave more room for Scoot Henderson, after his rookie year with Malcolm Brogdon as chaperone.
Position 5 was already pretty well staffed and is now becoming downright overloaded with the Draft of Donovan Clingan in addition to Deandre Ayton, Robert Williams III who has only played six games since his arrival, and the great discovery Duop Reath. Chauncey Billups will have to make choices (before transfers?), and succeed in articulating all these people without slowing the progress of the many young players on the roster.
SUMMER MOVEMENTS
Arrivals: Deni Avdija (Wizards), Donovan Clingan, Bryce McGowens (two-way contract)
Departures: Malcolm Brogdon (Wizards)
PLAYER TO WATCH: SCOOT HENDERSON
Having arrived in the NBA with a fairly significant hype, which he took it upon himself to feed, Scoot Henderson has not fully met the expectations placed on him. The third pick in the 2023 Draft had some time to adapt to the NBA game, after having had the keys to the Ignite, in the G-League, a much lower level, particularly defensively. The point guard slowly gained momentum before having a great end to the season, more confident. His shooting percentages, until then frankly worrying, particularly at two points, and his passing average have taken off to the levels hoped for by Blazers fans.
With Malcolm Brogdon gone, the 20-year-old is expected to be a full-time starter at point guard, no small feat with so many players to feed. Scott Henderson needs to step up a gear both in his finishing and his ball handling, where his risky play needs to be more polished. But his talent is undeniable, and he just needs to show it with more regularity. In any case, the situation seems conducive to his development, since the Blazers are willing to give him time to make mistakes.
Average age: 24.3 years
Payroll: $165.5 million (21st)
THE IDEAL SCENARIO
Last season's record with a decimated A' roster (21 wins for 61 losses) seems to be the floor for this squad. If the starters are spared from injuries, the Blazers can be a fun team to watch play, if not win often. This is not the primary goal anyway, since strengthening via the Draft remains the short-term objective. So all that remains is to assemble all the pieces of this puzzle and see it come to life in the coming months.
If Scoot Henderson has found his cruising speed at the end of last season, Portland could clearly benefit from his creation, while the Blazers were one of the worst teams in terms of shooting last season (29th average percentage, 30th on 3-pointers). The contribution of Donovan Clingan, impressive in the NCAA, could compensate for the limitations of the group's defensive rebounding. The return to form of Shaedon Sharpe would offer a little more athletic density and an additional danger in scoring. It is rare enough for a team at the bottom of the table, but besides Sharpe, the Trail Blazers can count on at least four players (Simons, Grant, Ayton, Henderson) capable of scoring around twenty points regularly.
That's a lot of conditionals and few guarantees of success. But it would be a nice potential build combination, while still being well-positioned for a high pick in the next draft.
THE WORST SCENARIO
Without wanting to bring back bad memories for fans of the franchise, but it would look a lot like the one in 2023/24: cascading injuries, young players left to their own devices and a still faltering game. If Chauncey Billups does not adjust his plans, it is difficult to see where this team could go, which needs structure.
Also beware in the event of a missed first half of the season of a possible major upheaval before the “deadline” to rebalance the squad, at the risk of taking a new step backwards in the collective development of the team. It is not certain, however, that a status quo is necessarily preferable since the hypothesis mentioned by Chauncey Billups of aligning both Deandre Ayton and Donovan Clingan seems anachronistic, even frankly surprising since Ayton has neither the profile nor the body of a power forward. And seeing the two players plateau in playing time, not to mention a possible return to form by Robert Williams, does not seem like the right option either. Beware of frustration and complicated management.
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