It’s The End of an Era In Portland
I have been begging my favorite team, the Blazers, to rebuild. To start over. Now that they’ve started to, I couldn’t be more disappointed.
If you’ve kept up with me for a while, you know I’m a Blazers fan. It’s a hard life, I know. With a new interim GM in Joe Cronin, a rebuild seemed imminent. Instead, Cronin said this about 1000 times;
The organization wants to win, said Joe Cronin. There are times when you have to take a step back in order to make a step forward, and we are not convinced that this is the time yet. Our approach today [Dec 9th] is not a re-tool or rebuild. It’s an enhance. We haven’t discussed one time about taking a step back.
Quote via Jason Quick’s article from The Athletic – circa Dec. 9th, 2021
With that in mind, I assumed my Blazers would not do anything.
I wasn’t happy with that reality, but it wasn’t anything new.
Not making the right decision for the long-term direction of the franchise was something we’d seen many times with Neil Olshey.
With Dame out with surgery, the Blazers aren’t a good team. Anfernee Simons is blossoming, but that injury to Dame ended our season.
To make matters worse, Nassir Little is out for the rest of the year.
Even with that, I thought that all was relatively well for a brief period. I was waiting until the offseason for this team to disappoint me in some way.
Instead, the disappointment met me in early February.
After months of trying to “enhance” the roster, interim GM Joe Cronin just made one of the most baffling moves I’ve ever seen.
Clippers Receive: Norman Powell – Robert Covington
Blazers Receive: Keon Johnson (R) – Eric Bledsoe – Justise Winslow – 2025 2nd RP (via Det)
From the outside looking in, you already know that LA fleeced Portland. As a Blazers fan, I can assure you that it’s much, much worse than it looks. Here’s a Blazers fan’s reaction to this trade from hell.
The “Pros”
Before I mercilessly rip apart this deal (foreshadowing), there are a few pros I can list out. It’s not a long list, but a list nonetheless.
For one, the Blazers are now under the luxury tax.
For ownership, that’s less of a bill to pay at the end of the year. From strictly a business standpoint, this makes one iota of sense.
The only valuable asset in this deal is Keon Johnson. The 21st pick in the draft hasn’t played much with the Clippers. He’s not much of an offensive threat, but he does offer great defense and athleticism.
Similar to Nassir Little, Johnson is an athlete at this stage of his career. At 6’5″, he’s a versatile defender. For a team needing young assets, Johnson is just that. He’s the only reason I’m not swimming in the Willamette right now.
Those minor “pros” aside, I hate this trade. The more I think about it, the more I hate it. It will never matter how good Keon Johnson becomes.
Buckle in everybody, this should be fun.
This Trade Makes No Sense
Any way you slice it, this trade doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t make sense from Cronin’s original idea of “enhancing” the roster. It doesn’t make sense in terms of rebuilding or building for the future. Nothing about this trade makes sense.
However, the worst part of this trade isn’t the move itself. It’s the moves that preceded it, making this one big mess that I can’t wrap my head around.
The Norman Powell Situation
Last season at the trade deadline, the Blazers traded for Norman Powell. Norman Powell is a fine basketball player. He can defend, shoot, and slash to the basket. He’s the perfect secondary creator on a playoff team.
The Blazers longed for the 3rd option behind Dame and CJ. Powell is the perfect player for that role, and so trading him was the worst possible thing for this team.
Powell was having a great season (18.7 points on 59% TS), and it makes the trade from last year look even more baffling.
To acquire Powell, the Blazers had to trade Gary Trent Jr. to Toronto. The 2018 second-round pick had slowly worked his way into the rotation. He was a tenacious defender and a flamethrower on offense. It seemed like Trent, not Powell, would emerge as Portland’s third star.
Instead, the Blazers traded Trent away. This trade didn’t make much sense at the time, but now it makes even less sense. Portland had to pay Powell $90 million dollars this offseason. They traded away one of the few young assets for him, so keeping him long-term was the only right answer.
Curb Your Intelligence
The Gary Trent Jr. trade will never make sense. When Portland gave Powell that big extension, you would have hoped he’d be there for the long haul. You don’t just trade one of your best young players for a one-year rental.
Even with the Blazers being rumored to blow things up, Powell always seemed untouchable to me simply because there was no way they could trade him. Trading him would essentially say we gave up Gary Trent Jr. for nothing.
{Portland: Trades Powell Anyway}
What. The. $#@*
Did we seriously trade away Gary Trent Jr, one of our best young assets, for Eric Bledsoe and Justise Winslow? Are you kidding me? No, really. Are you kidding me?
What was the point of trading for Powell? Why couldn’t we have just kept Gary Trent Jr, who would be a great piece for the future? We could have just paid Trent the money he deserved. Instead, we have neither Powell nor Trent.
I get that Norman Powell wasn’t going to fit our rebuilding timeline. But, the reasons for keeping him were right in front of you. He was mentoring CJ Elleby. He would have made this team somewhat watchable for the next two to three seasons. More than anything, the Blazers needed to keep Norman Powell to justify trading away Trent.
Instead, they traded him for pennies on the dollar. Even better, it’s to a Western Conference contender we play four times a year.
{Hand on Forehead Counter: 1}
The “Return”
Keon Johnson is the one positive about this trade. Other than that, cover your eyes.
Eric Bledsoe is washed. The Clippers benched him for a reason. At 32 years old, he’s not going to be a Blazer for long. I’ll be surprised if he even plays for us. He’s getting paid $18.1 million this season, but just $3.9 million in 2023.
He’s a prime candidate to be traded once he becomes cheaper. Again, Eric Bledsoe will not do much as a Blazer.
Justise Winslow could be fine, but he’s always hurt. He’s only 25 years old and getting paid $8 million dollars over the next two seasons. It’s not game-changing, but he could become a decent role player (trying to rationalize this move.)
That second-round pick from Detroit won’t be good in 2025. By that time, Cade Cunningham will have taken over the league. I am assuming that Chet Holmgren, Paulo Banchero, or Jabari Smith will be on their team. That pick will never amount to anything.
Bill Simmons summed up this trade nicely;
{Hand on Forehead Counter: 2}
Thanks, Robert Covington
Where do I even start on this one?
Basketball genius Neil Olshey traded for Covington on draft night 2020. Covington was another dream player for Portland. No offense to Blazer legends Mo Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu, but we needed a defensive stopper.
We didn’t have Powell at this point, so I was happy about this move. Any form of defense after the Bubble was needed to ease my conscience.
The price for such a luxury was steep. We held the 16th pick in the draft that year and gave that up to Houston. That pick eventually went to Detriot, where professional street fighter Isaiah Stewart was selected.
We also traded away a 2021 lottery-protected first-round pick. That pick ended up being #23 overall, which gave the Rockets Usman Garuba.
Again, the price was steep for Covington, but I thought it was worth it. Oh, how wrong I was.
Curb Your Intelligence v2
Covington wasn’t terrible, but he wasn’t great. He certainly wasn’t good enough to trade two first-round picks for him.
Covington was an expiring contract this season. I’m not mad that we traded him away. He wasn’t a long-term asset anyway, someone who wouldn’t fit a rebuilding timeline.
What I’m mad about is that we gave up two first-round picks for him and didn’t get one back. Even one first-rounder would have been an ok return for Roco. Instead, we got Eric Bledsoe and Justise Winslow.
{Hand on Forehead Counter: 10}
Overview
In essence, over the past two seasons, the Blazers did this;
Lost: Gary Trent Jr – Isaiah Stewart – Usman Garuba – Robert Covington – Norman Powell – Sanity
Gained: Eric Bledsoe – Justise Winslow – 2025 2nd RP
Stocks.
{Hand on Forehead Counter: 100}
Damian Lillard Is All But Gone
Damian Lillard trade rumors have finally had some truth behind them over the past two seasons. The most loyal superstar in the NBA passed out cryptic answers and Instagram captions, carefully separating himself from Portland.
His abdomen surgery looked to end the worst season of his career. With Dame, there was always hope that this team would be decent. For a decade, Dame has made this team better than they actually are. Without the best Blazer in franchise history, where would this team be?
Dame has given me some of the best basketball moments of my life. His two series-clinching game-winners in the playoffs. The clutchness he displayed in the 4th quarter. His never-ending grit and toughness.
Damian Lillard is what brought me into basketball. He’s my favorite player. One of the 75 best players of All-Time. A Hall of Famer. And as of right now, a former Blazer.
The Nail in the Coffin
I have been one of the few Blazer fans that have wanted to trade Dame. Again, it’s not because of any performance reasons. It’s because we don’t have a future if we don’t trade him.
There’s no point in keeping one of the greatest players of this generation if we’re just going to lose in the first round. We have to face the fact that we wasted Dame. It’s not easy to accept that, but it’s true.
His problematic abdomen aside, Dame would net the Blazers a premium. 3-4 first-round picks. A young star. Trading Dame would give this franchise the reset button it desperately needs. It didn’t seem like this day would ever happen, but this trade cements that.
After years of never giving Dame the assets he needed to win, it’s time to do right by him and send him off. Give him a new home where he can win a championship. I think we owe him that, at least.
I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying
To me, this is the hardest part of this trade. Damian Lillard has been at the center of Portland for decades. When you think of Dame Dolla, you think of Portland. His name has become synonymous with loyalty.
When everybody was telling him to move on, he planted his roots even further. The kid from Weber State was the hero we didn’t deserve, but the hero we needed.
I will forever be grateful for his scoring explosions. His clutch performances. His unwillingness to become what so many other superstars are. There aren’t too many players like Damian Lillard. I don’t think the Blazers will ever have such a good human being leading them. It’s impossible to quantify how much Damian Lillard means to the city of Portland.
Wherever he lands next, I can assure you that I’ll be rooting for him. I’ll be rooting for the best thing that ever happened to this pathetic franchise.
I think Mike Rice summed things up best.
“He’s a monster.”
I Don’t Know What The Future Holds
It’s only logical to assume Joe Cronin isn’t done disassembling this team. Expect more moves to come, even in the next couple of days. The Pelicans want CJ McCollum’s massive contract. Jusuf Nurkic is one foot in, one foot out.
After years of masquerading as a good team, the Blazers have to rebuild from the ground up. Instead of relying solely on one player, we have to build a team. For once, this organization has to do its job.
This team doesn’t have much of a future, but a Damian Lillard trade is how we can turn things around. How much or how little we get in that trade will drive our organization in the 2020s.
For the first time in my life, the Blazers are going to tank. We don’t know what the future holds. This journey doesn’t have a storybook ending.
From Terry Stotts to Neil Olshey, this franchise hasn’t seen too much change for the past 10 years. Now, expect more change than ever before. With my hand still on my forehead, it’s time for a lot of change in the Rose City.
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