Portland Trail Blazers Refuse to Rebuild?
Owner Paul Allen doesn’t seem like a man who wants to endure another rebuilding era. In fact, I believe one of the key factors in ex-general manager Rich Cho getting fired wasn’t necessarily his personality. Rather, that Cho wanted to start over and Allen didn’t want to hear it. And to this, I’m with Allen. Because starting over means giving up.
Whether it’s (Damian) Lillard or (Austin) Rivers at No. 6 feels incidental to me. I like them both. It’s more about what the Blazers plan to do with their other three draft picks, their cap room and a roster with only one player who feels off limits. We’ve been told for three years that Kevin Pritchard wasn’t the sole architect of that record-setting draft day in which the Blazers pulled off a league-record six trades. If that’s true, someone who played a role must still be in the Blazers draft room.
So prove it.
Make a big deal. Give LaMarcus Aldridge some help. Get more than one player who can make an impact next season. In a dream, Thursday ends with the Blazers selecting a future starter at No. 6, and using the other three draft picks, the cap room, the roster, (Victor) Claver, Joel Freeland and the kitchen sink to turn the Blazers roster from flimsy to formidable in one day.
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