Northwest Notes: Blazers, Rubio, Wolves, Hill

Few NBA teams spent as aggressively and as extensively as the Trail Blazers did in the offseason — in addition to committing more than $240MM to free agent contracts, Portland also signed C.J. McCollum to a nine-figure extension. However, through the season’s first half, the team hasn’t justified its owner’s financial commitment, writes Joe Freeman of The Oregonian.

As Freeman details, most Trail Blazers players are confident that the club can turn things around and have a strong second half, earning a playoff berth. But since its summer spending spree, Portland has been considered one of the NBA teams most likely to make a trade at some point this season, given the franchise’s overlap at certain positions and its huge future financial commitments. So it will be interesting to see how the team performs over the next few weeks, and how that might affect what GM Neil Olshey does at the trade deadline.

Here’s more from out of the Northwest:

• Ricky Rubio got off to a poor start this season, slowed by an elbow injury, but he has been thriving for the Timberwolves this month, as Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune writes. “It’s hard to remember when I felt this confident,” Rubio said. “I think this is the best two weeks of my NBA career. I’m more consistent, I would say. Maybe I’ve had better weeks before. But as a feeling? This is good.” Rubio’s play as of late is good news for the Wolves, who are a better team with their veteran point guard thriving and could get a better haul for a productive Rubio if they decide to trade him.
• Minnesota’s Target Center, the home of the Timberwolves, is undergoing renovations, and the cost of those changes has increased by an addition $21MM, according to Jay Kolls of 5 Eyewitness News. Sources tell Kolls that the Wolves are expected to pay the brunt of those extra costs.
• George Hill has battled injuries early in his first season with the Jazz, but he has been a key part of the team’s lineup when he’s been healthy and is improving his stock for 2017 free agency. Still, as he tells Jody Genessy of The Deseret News, Hill is critical of his own performance and sees room for improvement.