Simson Garcia | Sports Editor
The big debate over the Trail Blazers’s offseason activity is in the process. Help’s sorely needed after the previous playoff outing. But one change that doesn’t hold is bringing over a superstar, like Kevin Durant.
The last markee guy to sign with the Trailblazers? Scottie Pippen in ‘99 when he was traded for six players.
But who wants to come to Portland right now? A sweep in the first round is a bad look, especially after the team was highly touted for a run. If Portland does move players, it’ll be difficult to trade for an elite with how players like the overpriced Evan Turner underperformed.
Also, wonder why no big name has wanted to join the team over the years? It’s simply because no star wants to live in a city like Portland. Compared to metropolis’s like Los Angeles, Miami, Houston? Portland isn’t alluring to a guy like LeBron James.
The best thing Portland can do is to not panic and shake everything up — but, rather, to continuously improve through the NBA draft. Damian Lillard, 2012 draftee, and 2013 draftee, CJ McCollum are still young: build around them. The 2006 draft and how they acquired Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge is a quintessential example. They traded fourth pick Tyrus Thomas, who had a subpar career, for second pick LaMarcus Aldridge — but didn’t stop there — and moved up one spot to get Roy for Randy Foye.
Coaching changes I can go for — a slight shift in play style, most likely — but let’s not look in the wrong places. The Trail Blazers almost went for Paul George on a one-year deal. Portland for him wasn’t alluring, and redirected to Russell Westbrook’s Oklahoma City team and look at how that panned out. The best example Portland can take note from is Golden State. For years, they were terrible, but Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, are all draftees. They improved and finally lured Kevin Durant. Let’s try that formula.
Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu
Photo courtesy of: Trailblazers.com
