Portland Trail Blazers Initial Off-Season Thoughts

Unfortunately for the basketball-crazed city of Portland, the season is over. Just like any basketball season, this one was full of ups and downs and they will all be covered and talked about over and over again in the coming months.

This is going to be a very busy off-season for the Blazers. It is bound to be filled with ups and downs. Below are some of my initial thoughts concerning the season, pending off-season, and some of the franchise altering decisions that will be made in the coming months.

• Terry Stotts’ job safe? I think Stotts is a good coach and has done great things offensively with this team over the past three years. Conventional wisdom would tell you that Stotts will be back on the sideline for the Blazers next year. But this is the NBA and it is a “what have you done for me lately” culture. Look at Scott Brooks in Oklahoma City. Injuries destroyed their season but he was the scapegoat and lost his job. With a disappointing exit in the first round of this year, it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise if the Blazers moved on from Stotts. Maybe a defensively minded coach like Tom Thibodeau? Maybe a veteran coach like Brooks? Maybe a fresh face from the Popovich coaching tree in Ettore Messina?
• A lot of this off-season will revolve around the pending free agency of the majority of the roster. It all hinges on LaMarcus Aldridge. One question I have … if Aldridge bolts, will General Manager Neil Olshey blow it up and rebuild or will he try to scrap together a roster to compete in the uber-competitive Western Conference?
• If Aldridge were to leave, would that possibly open up a return to Portland for Kevin Love? Love is one of the most highly regarded power forwards in the league but has not been able to find his role in Cleveland this season. Love has publicly said he would like to play in a big market (L.A., New York, Boston) but a return to his hometown may persuade him otherwise.
• Free agent Wesley Matthews is one of the biggest question marks on the roster as he recovers from a ruptured Achilles tendon. This is an injury that typically sidelines an athlete for close to 8 months. When free agency kicks off in the beginning of July, Matthews will be shy of 4 months into his recovery. What type of offer sheets will teams be willing to put on Matthews’ table without seeing him run, cut, and jump?
• As if Olshey wasn’t going to have an already stressful summer trying to resign Aldridge, Matthews, and Robin Lopez, he is going to be tasked with rebuilding the much-scrutinized bench. Meyers Leonard and CJ McCollum are both under contract next year. However Chris Kaman, Steve Blake, and Arron Afflalo either have player or team options. The bench could be pretty vacant if those three guys leave. Olshey will be tasked with bringing in or resigning a veteran presence on the bench.
• Channing Frye was spotted sitting courtside of Game 3 in Portland. The veteran stretch-4 that finds his off-season residence in Portland fell out of the Orlando Magic rotation mid-way through the season. His contract is a bit bloated but he could be had for the right price if Aldridge were to jet.
• The future is fuzzy but the playoff series showed there are a couple bright spots on this roster, specifically CJ McCollum and Meyers Leonard. Both of these two were top-11 lottery picks and came with high expectations. They started showing major signs of improvement and maturity in the playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies. Leonard provided offense, toughness, and rebounding. McCollum showed the league how talented of a scorer he is, just a pure, natural scorer. McCollum set the franchise record for scoring off the bench in the playoffs in Game 5 with 33 points. Twitter blew up calling McCollum “The Future,” and he very well may be.
• Please media, treat the Aldridge free agency with some professionalism. Double and triple check “sources.” Portland has had its fair share of sensationalism in sports media. This is going to be a busy, hectic summer for the franchise, media, and fanbase. Rumors and rhetoric will just add noise.