Buckle up, Portland Trail Blazers fans, this could be a very bumpy off-season. The ups and downs are going to be incredible. Literally anything could happen to this roster in the next couple months. There will be rumors, sources and reports of all kinds of things. Some will be encouraging for Blazers fans. Some will be heartbreaking. No other team in the entire NBA will have such an active and franchise-changing couple of months.
The key to surviving this off-season is to stay educated. There is going to be a lot of talk and the key is going to be knowing what to believe and what not to believe. To be better informed, let me break down the three phases of the off-season.
The NBA Draft – I love the NBA Draft! Absolutely love it. One of my biggest dreams as a Portland Trail Blazers fan and as a writer is being able to sit in the draft room in the practice facilities and being able to see the inner-workings of the draft. Seeing General Manager Neil Olshey field calls from around the league, hearing the scouts’ breakdowns of the different prospects, and feeling the overall tension in the room as one prospect after another comes off the board.
On June 25th, the lives of 60 young men will change forever as they are drafted into the league they have dreamt of playing in their whole lives. The Portland Trail Blazers own the 23rd pick of the draft. But the intrigue will be much bigger than that one pick. Olshey and Paul Allen both love the draft and the process behind it. In the coming days and weeks, the Blazers will have prospects in for workouts; they will interview and check out a handful of prospects.
In my opinion, there is very little chance that the Blazers enter the night of the 25th and only make their one selection. There is a lot of talk that the Blazers could trade their pick and a veteran like Nicolas Batum to move up. That is a possibility. Another strong possibility is Allen being aggressive in the second round in buying a pick to bring another prospect into training camp.
If you would like more draft coverage and scouting reports start with my latest scouting report on Wisconsin small forward Sam Dekker.
Free Agency Moratorium – Moratorium is a big word meaning NBA teams can officially contact, meet with, and talk to NBA free agents but not sign them. The dates have yet to be released but last year the moratorium was July 1st-9th. Free agency followed on the 10th.
On the first night of the moratorium, teams will meet with their number one targets. It will be interesting as Blazers fans to see who is getting midnight visits from who. It will tell us a lot if LaMarcus Aldridge meets with Blazers’ brass as midnight. What about Wesley Matthews? Robin Lopez? Who these players accept visits from will be telling. These can be a tense 10 days. There will be reports of lavish meetings sponsored by teams. They will give these free agents the full court press. Celebrities, endorsement deals, promises of rings and grandeur. They hope to persuade these players to come to their team at all costs. I expect Aldridge and Matthews to have a few of these visits and it can be disheartening as a fan to look on as these Portland favorites visit rival franchises.
The thing to remember in this period is that nothing can be signed in these ten days. Anything that the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs or New York Knicks can say to Aldridge can be countered by the Blazers. There can be handshake agreements but nothing signed during these ten days. That is why it is so important to decipher carefully who to trust and what to believe.
Free Agency – This is when the dust begins to settle. The draft is over and the rookies have made their way to Portland to get ready for the Las Vegas Summer League. All of the reports and misinformation of the moratorium is finally coming to an end as players can now sign binding contracts. This is when the excitement of heartbreak will peak for the Blazers. Aldridge, Matthews and the rest of the free agents will either sign on the dotted lines for the Blazers or for some other team, possibly even a rival. It is just the nature of the business but it is never easy to stomach as a fan base.
If things are like last season, the free agency period will start about July 10th. A lot of the marquee names (Aldridge, Marc Gasol, Greg Monroe) will sign soon after the period begins. The secondary market will sort itself out the next week or two. If things don’t go the Blazers’ way and their stars leave town, Olshey and gang will be scrambling to execute back-up plans and bringing in some of those less-sought-after free agents.
In Olshey We Trust … that needs to be Portland’s theme for the coming summer. Olshey has had success in the draft (Damian Lillard, Meyers Leonard, CJ McCollum) and in free agency (Dorell Wright, Mo Williams, Chris Kaman). That is just in Portland. In Los Angeles, he had a ton of success in the draft, free agency and in resigning stars to advanced contracts (DeAndre Jordan). Resigning stars may make or break this off-season.
No matter what happens, the Blazers will take the court in the red and black in late October or early November. Lillard will be at the point. But at this point, that is the only given.
Depending on how you view the coming off-season, it might be the most interesting or terrifying one in the history of Blazers basketball. No matter how you look at it, there will not be a dull moment the next couple months.
For your cardiac health, please don’t believe every rumor you read. Agents make their money by making their clients the most money possible. Sometimes to help their clients make more money, agents may manufacture (falsely) interest from other teams to raise the bids they are offered. This is very common and will happen with players on the current Blazers roster.
Enjoy your summer. Have a barbeque with friends and family. Get a sun tan (or burn). And enjoy ongoing coverage of the Portland Trail Blazers. But try not to sweat things you cannot control. An off-season like this in Portland is going to be exhausting.
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