There has been a lot of focus on what the future holds for the Portland Trail Blazers around the NBA. Following the firing of the general manager and president of basketball operations Neil Olshey, a piece detailing some of the inside workings of the Trail Blazers went live at The Athletic.
One of the biggest takeaways from the piece was Damian Lillard’s growing discontent with the organization. Lillard reportedly wants to see some significant changes to the roster, which is understandable.
As currently constructed, Portland is not in a position to contend for a championship. They had high hopes for Chauncey Billups helping turn the team’s defense around when he took over as the head coach of the team, but things have not gone as planned.
Portland is currently second to last in the NBA in defensive rating ahead of only the Charlotte Hornets. Unfortunately this season, they have not been able to compensate for their struggles defensively with a high-level offense.
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Portland is 11th in the league in offensive rating, but they are struggling to stay healthy. Lillard is battling a chronic abdominal injury while CJ McCollum suffered a collapsed lung that will keep him sidelined for an indefinite period of time.
That has been a cause for the team’s recent slide. Portland has lost five consecutive games with an abysmal -17.3 net rating in that span. The Oklahoma City Thunder, who lost by 73 points to the Memphis Grizzlies, is the only team with a worse rating over that span with a -20.7 net rating.
Getting healthy will help Portland stabilize the team, but the long-term outlook of the team isn’t too promising. They do not have the assets to make any splash moves to upgrade the roster, so a full-scale rebuild may be in the works.
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While the team has reportedly told teams that they are not going to trade Lillard, it might be in their best long-term interest to move on from him. He would present their best chance to restock the cupboard with young players and draft capital. Moving other veteran pieces like CJ McCollum would help, too.
It is always tough moving on from a franchise player, but at this time, things seem to have run their course in Portland for the Trail Blazers. Damian Lillard is a great player, but at this point in time, parting ways may be best for the future outlook of the organization.
