The Portland Trail Blazers came into the 2021-22 NBA season with good-sized expectations. They had a new head coach in Chauncey Billups who was expected to turn things around on the defensive end. With an improved defense to go along with their elite offense, the Trail Blazers would be able to make some noise in the Western Conference playoffs.
However, at this point in time, Portland would be lucky just to make the postseason. They are 21-29 and in 10th place in the conference, which is the final spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament. To make matters worse, superstar point guard Damian Lillard underwent abdominal surgery and his timetable to return is up in the air.
This is a team that is used to doing more winning, as they have made the postseason eight straight years. Anything can happen in a single-elimination game such as the play-in tournament, but is that something Portland should be focusing their attention on achieving?
There shouldn’t be a firesale in Portland, as they have gotten themselves back into the picture for a spot in the play-in tournament. They currently have a 2.5 game lead over the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans, the two teams closest to them in the standings.
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Ownership wants to remain competitive, but they have to be realistic with their expectations. They have played better as of late, but if the opportunity presents itself to retool the roster, it is one that they have to take advantage of.
The Portland Trail Blazers won’t outright tank and be active sellers at the NBA trade deadline, but they shouldn’t be turning away calls, either. They have some players on expiring deals, such as Robert Covington and Jusuf Nurkic, that they should extract the most value they possibly can from. Larry Nance Jr. is another player that is reportedly drawing a lot of interest around the league.
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This is an audition for the full-time job for Joe Cronin as well. He was named interim general manager after Niel Olshey was fired earlier in the season. If Cronin can oversee a turnaround and the team remains competitive down the stretch, he could earn himself the full-time job.
