Trail Blazers big man Zach Collins, whose 2019/20 season came to an early end when he underwent ankle surgery in August, isn’t expected to be ready to go for the start of the ’20/21 campaign, president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said today (Twitter link via Joe Freeman of The Oregonian). According to Olshey, Collins will likely be out until mid-January or so.
With Collins out of the lineup for the time being, the door may be open for newly-added big men Enes Kanter and Harry Giles to pick up some extra minutes at the start of the season. The Blazers could also end up leaning more heavily on smaller lineups with Robert Covington or Carmelo Anthony at the four.
Here’s more out of Portland:
- Olshey expects swingman Rodney Hood, who is returning from a torn Achilles, to be ready for opening night (Twitter link via Freeman).
- Portland’s offseason moves were aimed at improving the team’s defense and adding versatility and athleticism to the squad, Olshey said (per Freeman). The additions of Covington and Derrick Jones, in particular, should help on that front.
- The Blazers, who intend to lean on Anfernee Simons as their backup point guard, don’t plan to fill their 15th roster spot due to potential luxury tax concerns, Olshey said (Twitter link via Freeman).
Blazers made a lot of good moves….should make Dame happy
Adding Robert Covington will definitely make them better among the contenders for the ultra-competitive West. None of them are winning 50 games next season among the Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, Rockets, Mavs, Jazz, or Blazers. Mainly because they will only play 72 games but also because teams like the Warriors, Pelicans, and maybe even the Suns will also make the conference even deeper than it was last season.
Portland had a good offseason. They’ve addressed the 3 spot with two guys (RC and DJ) who can physically match up at the position across the conference and league for that matter. Puts Hood back in the 2/3 role off the bench, and means that they can bring Melo back to backup Collins at the 4. I think they’ll be substantially improved.
I agree Blazers did reup. They will be healthy team from beginning. Should be a better team than last yr. They got nice depth now. Melo plays like he did in Bubble, playing D too. He can be good offense with second team. Blazers gonna sneak up on teams
They will need to use that 15th spot to fill in for Simons who is not durable. The luxury tax is not computed until the year’s end, (though they keep changing dates). There’s some good undrafted PGs still… cut down later.
They will probably have to rush at the end to get in, like last year, due to unfamiliarity and individuals not coming through.
Using the full MLE on a Small Forward who cannot dribble or shoot, (jones jr) when the team has no starting caliber Power Forward on the roster…
olshey GRADE:F
Your main asset in Free agency the MLE AND you pass on:
Christian Wood Montrez Harrel Serge Ibaka and Jay Crowder. All these guys sign at the same rate as jones jr and left their previous team. They were attainable with Blazers cash. Did he forget he just signed 2 other better small forwards earlier? When you need a starting Power Forward and you take Jones Jr over any of these guys, Really! Thats a failure!!
Olshey, stop waisting Dame, Cj’s time!!
Comments like this are ridiculous. Your assumption is that each of those players wanted to sign with Portland but Olshey was like, “No thanks”!
Lillard, CJ, Covington, Melo, Collins
Derrick Jones jr, Trent, Nurkic, Hood, Little, Simons, Giles
Portland should be much improved, barring health
With Collins missing the start of the season, Giles might make sense as a starter, so Nurkic gets used to what should be his role off the bench behind Collins once he comes back.