The Portland Trail Blazers have a difficult decision to make regarding whether they trade away their franchise star Damian Lillard or not this off-season. Should they do so, NBA writer Mark Medina argues that they are the ‘Exhibit A’ of a team that needs to do a re-build if they want to get themselves in playoff contention within the next few seasons.
NBA news – Portland Trail Blazers
According to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, the Trail Blazers have reportedly signed point-guard Ashton Hagans, who last played in the NBA in 2021 as a rookie for the Minnesota Timberwolves, to a one-year deal.
Signing the former Kentucky guard may be a small indication that the Blazers are perhaps preparing for a re-build with Damian Lillard’s departure from the team looking more inevitable.
However, it appears that the Trail Blazers may have actually been thinking about rebuilding their roster for quite some time.
Back in July, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported via The Old Man and the Three podcast with JJ Redick, that he believed the Blazers have been quietly rebuilding for the past two years as they prepare for life without the 33-year-old.
He went on to report that he doesn’t blame the seven-time NBA All-Star for requesting a trade away from the team he has spent all 11 seasons of his career with.
The Blazers don’t have to worry about letting Lillard go elsewhere on a free as he is currently contracted under 2025 with two years left on his four-year, $176 million extension, per Spotrac.
However, it would appear that the market for Dame Time is limited with the Blazers’ “high” asking price thought to be deterring teams, with Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian reporting that they are looking for a return in the region of “four first-round picks and two quality players”.
The fact that Lillard only has the Miami Heat set in his sights for his next destination complicates any potential trade discussions even further.
Do the Trail Blazers need to do a re-build now?
Medina believes that out of any team in the NBA, the Portland Trail Blazers are the side that needs to move on from Lillard and quickly rebuild their roster.
When asked if any team in the NBA needed to do a blow-up rebuild, Medina told GIVEMESPORT: “I think the Portland Trail Blazers have to do this with Damian Lillard. It seems clear that he doesn't want to be there.”
“Even though I'm a Scoot Henderson fan, an Anfernee Simons fan, they're kind of running in the same direction where they're not going to be a serious playoff contenders. Maybe they make the play-in tournament, that's it.”
“So I think that is the Exhibit A of a team that needs to do a rebuild. It doesn't mean that they have to ultimately demote themselves to the bottom of the Western Conference and just compete for the lottery. But I think that they have to make that difficult decision.”
“Even though it seems like the Miami Heat are really the only suit suitors here, they can get a third or fourth team involved so at least they get assets and draft capital, and then build on those young players.”
“Again, they're not going to be the worst team in the NBA, but they have to accept that maybe this is a bridge year to allow Scoot Henderson to fully develop, Anfernee Simons can continue to develop, so that they become one of those contending teams in the West next season and the following seasons to come.”
So, have the Portland Trail Blazers been ‘quietly rebuilding’?
As aforementioned, ESPN’s Wojnarowski believes the Blazers have already been rebuilding by trading away Josh Hart for a draft pick and tanking in the 2021-22 season in an attempt to receive a higher NBA Draft position, and that it just went under the radar.
During the 2021-22 season they finished with a record of 27-55, ultimately finishing in 13th place in the Western Conference. As a result, per Real GM, they had a 9% chance of winning the No. 1 pick in the draft, the sixth-best odds that year.
However, they ended up losing a spot and acquired the No. 7 overall pick to which they used to draft Kentucky forward, Shaedon Sharpe.
Last season, per Statmuse, Sharpe averaged 9.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 22.2 minutes of action, showing glimpses of real shooting quality on the court with 47.2% from the field and 36.0% from the three-point line.
This season, they finished in the No. 13 position again with a 33-49 record, with increased odds of securing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, with a pre-lottery position of 5th.
Fortunately, they saw their draft luck change as they were awarded the No. 3 overall position, with which they opted to draft point-guard Scoot Henderson, despite reports that Lillard had wanted them to use the pick in a trade for him.
After drafting the guard from the G-League Ignite, who has demonstrated so much potential to become an elite-NBA talent, it seems as though the Trail Blazers have already begun taking the next steps to re-building their roster for the long term, and one that definitely appears to no longer include Damian Lillard.
Where Damian Lillard will ultimately end up, though, is still up for debate.