With both the NBA draft and free agency behind us, multiple national outlets have begun putting together their versions of the traditional way-too-early power rankings. Although you could argue the “way-too-early” portion makes these analyses moot, it’s also worth noting that the landscape of the Association isn’t going to shift drastically between now and the start of the 2016-17 season.
The first look at where Portland stands comes courtesy of Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes. He has the Blazers ranked 12th overall and seventh out West. Here’s a look at his conference top eight:
Western Conference
- Golden State (1st overall)
- San Antonio Spurs (3rd overall)
- Utah Jazz (4th overall)
- Los Angeles Clippers (6th overall)
- Memphis Grizzlies (9th overall)
- Houston Rockets (10th overall)
- Portland Trail Blazers (12th overall)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (14th overall)
Per Hughes:
“With Gerald Henderson gone, Maurice Harkless dangling and a playoff series win to live up to, the Blazers are in a tricky spot. Gunning for immediate improvement (and overpaying for it) isn’t a great idea for an organization that still has some real rebuilding to do.
“Still, depending on what happens the rest of the way with Crabbe and Ezeli, the Blazers could find themselves cracking the top 10.”
As we now know, Allen Crabbe and Festus Ezeli will both don red and black next season, giving Portland a chance at top-10 status in the eyes of this particular national writer.
The other major outlet to release pre-pre-season rankings is CBS Sports, courtesy of Matt Moore. He has the Blazers 11th in his national comparison and sixth out West. Here’s a look at how his Western Conference rankings round out:
Western Conference
- Golden State (1st overall)
- San Antonio Spurs (3rd overall)
- Los Angeles Clippers (4th overall)
- Memphis Grizzlies (6th overall)
- Utah Jazz (10th overall)
- Portland Trail Blazers (11th overall)
- Houston Rockets (12th overall)
- Dallas Mavericks (16th overall)
Per Moore:
“Does Evan Turner for $70 million really make them better? No, but then we said the same thing about Al-Farouq Aminu last year. That was the prevailing sentiment at Summer League about Portland: Hey, they did seemingly bizarre things last year and made the second round, so who are we to judge? I have my suspicions about this year but I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt until we see how this team looks in the fall.”
Moore isn’t alone. Many people, both in and outside the media, have suspicions about Portland. But like Moore states, that was the narrative entering 2015-16, and the team proved everybody wrong by making the second round and establishing one of the most dynamic backcourts across the league.
Although we’re sure to see more rankings come out over the next few months, the consensus appears to be that the Blazers are a borderline top-10 team with plenty of potential to surprise the league again.
The catch is that this time the competition knows what Portland is capable of, which is why it’s crucial that this squad takes yet another step forward despite underwhelming this offseason.
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