By: Jamal Smith Sports Editor
Before the start of the 2015-16 NBA season, most sports analysts thought that the Portland Trailblazers had no chance of making the playoffs. The Blazers dismantled last year’s team who had the talent to compete for a NBA Championship and decided to rebuild.
The heart and soul of last year’s team, LaMarcus Aldridge, decided to part ways with the organization in the offseason and sign with the San Antonio Spurs in his home state of Texas. As soon as it became clear that Aldridge was gone, Blazer’s general manager, Neil Olshey, cleared the deck with the team’s high paid veterans Nicolas Batum, Westley Mathews, and Robin Lopez.
After the massive turnover in free agency, the Blazers were left with their starting point guard, two-time NBA All-Star Damian Lillard, and a bunch of young unproven players with high potential.
So, almost everyone, including myself, expected the Blazers to be in the hunt for a coveted ping-pong ball: a lottery pick in the upcoming draft.
But now, the Trailblazers find themselves in a very precarious situation: with a record of 24-26, the Blazers are currently the eighth seed in the Western Conference and would make the playoffs if the season ended today.
I believe that making the playoffs would be disastrous for the organization, and I think it would be best to tank the rest of the season. Yes, I am suggesting that dirty t-word.
Of course, coaches and players do not want to tank, but rather the decision is made by the front office. Loosing for players threatens millions of dollars if players are set to sign new contracts, and for coaches, a losing season can be a quick ticket to the unemployment line.
Tanking in today’s NBA landscape is common. Smaller market teams, like Portland, have a real problem getting high profile free agents to sign contracts in the offseason. That means the only way for smaller market teams to get talented players is through trades or through the draft.
If Portland does end up making the playoffs in the eighth seed, they would most likely be playing the Golden State Warriors (44-4) in the first round of a seven-game playoff series. So, could the Blazers somehow pull off the biggest upset in NBA history? No. There’s a better chance of hell freezing over.
Looking at the rest of the Western Conference I find it highly improbable that the Blazers could come out victorious against any of the teams ahead of them in the standings, with the exception of Houston (No. 7) or Dallas (No. 6).
As a longtime Blazers fanatic I am sick and tired of my team making the playoffs only to be eliminated in the first round. Sacrificing the rest of the season would give the Blazer’s the best chance in improving their talent for the future by building through the draft. That’s how Portland got Aldridge, Lillard, Greg “Glass Bones” Oden, and Brandon Roy.
With more than half the season in the books, the Blazers have surpassed most sports analyzers’ expectations and my own. The players and coaches should be proud, but the Blazers front office should make the decision to pull the plug on the season.
In an offseason press conference, Olshey said that he and Paul Allen, the Trailblazers owner, were not worried about the next five minutes, but rather the next five years. If that’s truly the case then tanking is their best option.
