The Trade Deadline is now behind us and it’s already time to take stock for some franchises. We go immediately to Oregon to talk regarding the Blazers because all is not rosy in Rip City.
By tomorrow, most NBA watchers will honor the post-deadline with a simple question: Who handled that final transfer day? In the same way, it will be a question of wondering who has missed the mark over the last 24 hours. Spoiler… the Blazers can only enter the group of deadline losers.
Let’s just recap Portland’s latest moves:
They arrive
- Cam Reddish
- Matisse Thybulle
- Kevin Knox
- Ryan Archidiacono
- 5 second draft rounds
- 1 first draft round (protected)
They leave
- Josh Hart
- Gary Payton II
- 1 second draft round
So… Just by seeing the table above, we already say to ourselves that it doesn’t sell dreams. The Blazers have therefore lost two real role players, two solid defenders who can be counted on to recover… what? The Cam Reddish bet why not if it develops, Matisse Thybulle it always makes a defender on the wings even if he averages 3 points, the remains of Kevin Knox (lol), not very valuable picks… Wow, he Gone are the days when we thought Portland was going to move its pawns and nab a Kevin Durant.
To leave Josh Hart for fear of not being able to keep him financially this summer? Why not in a pinch. Seeing Gary Payton II leave is an absolute mystery though. A mystery as big as why Jusuf Nurkic is still in Oregon.
While all the cadors of the West are reinforced with stars and intelligent signatures, the Blazers are treading water. Worse, they come out of this Trade Deadline weakened and we will have to fight to make even the Play-in… There is however less than three games gap with Dallas which is fourth. It’s not as if the season might be messed up tonight.
More than a one-day failure, it’s the whole Blazers project that has just taken a big question mark on the face. The franchise had announced its desire to play the Playoffs and won it and the moves simply showed the opposite. What message sent to a Damian Lillard? The leader burns down all the defenses of the country night following night but he cannot win alone, or at least not without new qualitative reinforcements. We hope that Joe Cronin will not sell him the summer extension of Jerami Grant with a lot of greenbacks as a guarantee of competitiveness. The Blazers are running into the wall at this rate.
Lillard is 32 today, he will be 33 this summer and Portland will have to make a choice at some point. Currently, we feel that the franchise is kind of in between. Not strong enough to play high but too good to be a dunce. Still, Dame’s clock is ticking, and the franchise is going to have to pick a direction because soft belly is the worst possible position in the NBA.
Do you try this all-in like Phoenix just did for example by going for a real cador, even if it means putting the picks, even if it means taking a big risk, to dream a little higher? Or do you opt for a real reconstruction to start once more on a long-term project with a new leader, from finances to green to start once more with your hands free? Two possible solutions, but it is Joe Cronin who has the cards in hand. And for the moment, we have the impression that he announces to us a misery of trumps, a kems and the rebelotte at the same time… Not clear the guy.
The Blazers were expected as possible hosts of the Trade Deadline and they wallowed in style. If you know a Portland fan, don’t hesitate to send him some love, it’s free and he or she really needs it.