Trail Blazers Rumors

2020 NBA Offseason Preview: Portland Trail Blazers

Hoops Rumors is previewing the 2020 offseason for all 30 NBA teams. We’re looking at the key questions facing each club, as well as the roster decisions they’ll have to make this fall. Today, we’re focusing on the Portland Trail Blazers.


Salary Cap Outlook

Accounting for their guaranteed salaries, player options for Rodney Hood and Mario Hezonja, and a cap hold for their first-round pick, the Trail Blazers have over $104MM in commitments on their books for 2020/21. That probably eliminates the possibility of cap room, but the team should be able to stay out of the luxury tax — its decisions on certain free agents and Trevor Ariza‘s partially guaranteed salary will likely be made with the tax line in mind.

Depending on how far over the cap Portland goes, the team will have either the full mid-level ($9.3MM) and bi-annual ($3.6MM) exceptions available, or will be limited to the taxpayer MLE ($5.7MM).

Our full salary cap preview for the Trail Blazers can be found right here.


Roster Decisions To Watch

Options:

  • Rodney Hood, player option: $6,003,900
  • Mario Hezonja, player option: $1,977,011

Non-Guaranteed Contracts:

  • Trevor Ariza ($12,800,000)
    • Note: Partially guaranteed for $1.8MM.

Two-Way Contracts:

Free Agents:


2020 Draft Assets

First Round:

  • No. 16 overall pick

Second Round:

  • No. 46 overall pick

The Trail Blazers have their own two picks in the 2020 NBA draft. As a result of their summer playoff push, their first-round pick moved out of the lottery and down to No. 16.


Three Key Offseason Questions

1. Will Hassan Whiteside and/or Carmelo Anthony be re-signed?

With Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins out for most of the 2019/20 season with injuries, Whiteside was asked to play a major role in the Trail Blazers’ frontcourt, and it would have been unfair to expect a much better performance than the one he provided.

The former Heat big man averaged 15.5 PPG, 13.5 RPG, and a league-leading 2.9 BPG in 67 games (30.0 MPG). Portland had a +2.7 net rating when he played, compared to just -5.5 when he sat.

Those numbers don’t tell the whole story, of course. Whiteside’s net rating was buoyed by sharing the court so often with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. And while his individual numbers were impressive, he’s not an especially versatile defender and his effort can be inconsistent.

An unrestricted free agent this offseason, Whiteside won’t match the $27MM he earned in 2019/20, and the Blazers should probably be wary about offering him even half that amount for ’20/21. Nurkic will be back in the starting lineup next season, and Collins’ role in the frontcourt should be increased as he continues to develop. Whiteside would be a useful depth piece, but Portland would probably be better off using its cap flexibility to focus on wings, perhaps opting instead for a lower-cost backup center who can stretch the floor a little.

Prioritizing wings could bode well for Anthony, who spent time at small forward when the Blazers got healthy and pivoted to jumbo lineups during the summer restart. Carmelo isn’t the dynamic scorer he once was and can’t be relied upon for lockdown defense, but he was a great fit in Portland as a secondary scorer, averaging 15.4 PPG with a .385 3PT% in 58 regular season games and making some big shots during the Blazers’ push for the No. 8 seed.

All indications are that the Blazers and Anthony have mutual interest in a reunion, so it may come down to the price tag — Carmelo’s minimum-salary contract was a bargain for Portland in 2019/20, but he may not come so cheap next season, and the club will have to decide how high it’s willing to go to bring him back. With only Non-Bird rights on the veteran forward, the Blazers would have to dip into their mid-level or use their bi-annual exception to offer him more than about $3MM.

2. Will Trevor Ariza be retained?

Portland’s decision on Anthony may hinge on part on what the team does with Ariza, another veteran forward who is a more effective defender than Carmelo, albeit not nearly as dangerous a scorer. Only $1.8MM of Ariza’s $12.8MM salary for 2020/21 is guaranteed, so the team could clear $11MM from its books by waiving him.

However, clearing that money wouldn’t create any extra cap room for the Blazers, who figure to operate as an over-the-cap team whether or not Ariza is around. That fact, combined with Ariza’s strong production for Portland last season (11.0 PPG on .491/.400/.872 shooting in 21 games), should help ensure that the 35-year-old is retained.

That doesn’t mean Ariza is a lock to spend the entire season with the Blazers. His expiring contract could be useful in a trade if there’s an opportunity for the club to acquire a younger and/or more impactful wing.

However, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Ariza finishes out his contract in Portland. In their first-round loss to the Lakers this summer, the Blazers were missing a player like Ariza (who had opted out of the restart) — a versatile defender with enough size to guard LeBron James. While the team will only play the Lakers a handful of times in 2020/21, Ariza’s ability to guard similar opposing frontcourt scorers should come in handy going forward.

3. What are the Blazers’ expectations for 2020/21?

Injuries to Nurkic, Collins, and Rodney Hood nearly sunk the Trail Blazers’ playoff chances in 2019/20, as Lillard and McCollum battled valiantly to keep the club within striking distance of the No. 8 seed. When Nurkic and Collins returned during the restart, Portland looked like a different team, compiling a 6-2 record in seeding games and defeating the Grizzlies in the play-in game before running into the top-seeded Lakers in the first round.

With almost all their top players under contract and Hood expected to be healthy, the Blazers should enter the 2020/21 season with increased expectations. After all, they’re only a year removed from an appearance in the Western Finals. And if the Lakers end up making a championship run this fall, Portland can probably convince itself it would’ve made more noise in the postseason against a different opponent.

Still, the Western Conference will be more competitive than ever next season and it would be risky to pencil in the Blazers for a top-five seed and a playoff series win or two. Lillard is a star and McCollum is a strong second option, but Portland still seems to be one impact player away from being a true title contender.

My best guess is that the Blazers will enter 2020/21 betting that a savvy mid-level addition and better health luck will help push them into the contender conversation, but I think they may eventually have to turn to the trade market to try to find that missing piece.

Armed with all their future first-round draft picks and with promising young players like Collins, Gary Trent Jr., Anfernee Simons, and Nassir Little, the Blazers have the pieces necessary to put together an intriguing package if a star becomes available. It will be interesting to see whether Neil Olshey and the front office start to feel any urgency to push their chips into the pot and try to maximize their window while Lillard (who turned 30 in July) is still in his prime.

Information from Basketball Insiders and ESPN was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Durant, Sixers, VanVleet, Anunoby

New Nets coach Steve Nash envisions a versatile role for Kevin Durant that would have him see time at all five positions, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Nash discussed Durant during an appearance this week on J.J. Redick‘s podcast, saying Durant has the skills to succeed anywhere on the court.

“Kevin, with his length, is a matchup problem for everyone,” Nash said. “(Kyrie Irving’s) excellent off the ball. Kevin can play all five positions, and I plan to use him in all five positions. I get excited to use some of the guys on the roster: Caris (LeVert), (DeAndre Jordan), Jarrett Allen, Joe Harris.”

Scouts and other league personnel who spoke to Lewis believe Brooklyn could have some devastating lineups with Durant at center, especially in a conference where the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Raptors’ Pascal Siakam have succeeded in that role.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Sixers are considering a front office shakeup that would include the addition of a president of basketball operations, sources tell Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. One source indicated that Trail Blazers executive Neil Olshey may be interested, but only if he has complete control over basketball decisions as both president and general manager. Rumors have surrounded former Hawks executive Danny Ferry, but the Sixers are denying that he’s a potential candidate. A source says the team plans to ask about Rockets GM Daryl Morey and Pacers president Kevin Pritchard, but the source doesn’t expect either to wind up in Philadelphia.
  • Fred VanVleet will be the Raptors‘ priority in free agency and they’ll find it expensive to keep him, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Smith estimates that Toronto could could give VanVleet a new deal starting at around $20MM per season while still retaining a maximum salary slot for the summer of 2021. He adds that the team may have to sacrifice Norman Powell or convince him to rework his contract to make that happen.
  • Raptors small forward OG Anunoby has signed with Klutch Sports Group, the agency announced on Twitter.

NBA Announces 2019/20 All-NBA Teams

The NBA has officially announced its All-NBA teams for the 2019/20 season. Voting was completed prior to the league’s restart in July and was based on results through March 11.

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lakers forward LeBron James, widely considered the two frontrunners for this year’s MVP award, were the only two players to be unanimously voted to the All-NBA First Team this season. Rockets guard James Harden, Lakers big man Anthony Davis, and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic rounded out the First Team.

The full All-NBA teams are listed below, with their vote totals in parentheses. Players received five points for a First Team vote, three points for a Second Team vote, and one point for a Third Team vote, so Giannis and LeBron scored a perfect 500 — First Team nods from all 100 voters.

All-NBA First Team

All-NBA Second Team

All-NBA Third Team

Among the players who just missed the cut were Bucks forward Khris Middleton (82 points), Sixers center Joel Embiid (79), Wizards guard Bradley Beal (32), and Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (26). A total of 11 other players also received at least one All-NBA vote — the full results can be found right here.

Today’s announcement is great news from a financial perspective for Siakam and Simmons. As a result of Siakam’s Second Team nod and Simmons’ Third Team spot, both players will earn starting salaries worth 28% of the 2020/21 salary cap, rather than 25%. Players who sign rookie scale extensions can earn maximum salaries up to 30% of the cap if they negotiate Rose Rule language into their deals.

The exact value of those new contracts will depend on where exactly the ’20/21 cap lands. Assuming it stays the same as in 2019/20 ($109.141MM), Siakam’s four-year extension would be worth $136.9MM instead of the $122.2MM it’d be worth if it started at 25% of the cap. Simmons’ five-year pact would be worth $177.2MM rather than $158.3MM.

While it’s also worth noting that All-NBA berths are of great importance to players seeking super-max contracts, there aren’t any real developments to report on that front as a result of this year’s votes. Antetokounmpo and Gobert remain eligible for super-max extensions, but they’d already qualified based on their previous accolades.

Embiid would have become super-max eligible in 2021 if he had earned an All-NBA spot, but he’ll need to make an All-NBA team next season to gain eligibility now, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.

Hoops Rumors readers accurately picked 12 of this season’s 15 All-NBA players in our spring poll. Beal, Embiid, and Devin Booker were your picks who didn’t make the official list. Of the 12 who made it, 11 made the exact team you projected, with Paul (who made Second Team instead of Third Team) representing the only exception.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Opinion: Don't Re-Sign Whiteside, Anthony

Pacers Identify 14 Head Coaching Candidates

The Pacers are set to begin a wide-ranging search for a head coach that will include more than a dozen candidates, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. As Wojnarowski details, Indiana is looking to interview the following candidates as the team seeks a replacement for Nate McMillan:

  • Former Kings and Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger
  • Timberwolves associate head coach David Vanterpool
  • Nets associate head coach Jacque Vaughn
  • Trail Blazers associate head coach Nate Tibbetts
  • Spurs assistants Becky Hammon and Will Hardy
  • Heat assistants Dan Craig and Chris Quinn
  • Mavericks assistants Jamahl Mosley and Stephen Silas
  • Bucks assistants Darvin Ham and Charles Lee
  • Sixers assistant Ime Udoka
  • Magic assistant Pat Delany

It remains to be seen whether the Pacers will be granted permission to speak with all of their potential targets. If they do, the team’s first round of virtual meetings would feature at least 14 interviews.

Many of the Pacers’ coaching candidates identified by Wojnarowski have been linked to other vacancies around the league. Vanterpool, Craig, Mosley, Silas, Ham, and Udoka, for example, are all believed to be interviewing for the Bulls’ job. Udoka and Ham have also been mentioned as potential 76ers candidates, as has Joerger. Vaughn was seriously considered for the Nets job before the team hired Steve Nash, while Hardy and Delany interviewed with the Knicks before they hired Tom Thibodeau.

[RELATED: 2020 NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker]

Others on Indiana’s list, such as Tibbetts and Hammon, have interviewed in past years for various NBA head coaching openings. Only a couple candidates – Quinn and Lee – haven’t received head coaching consideration in the past, as far as I can tell. Meanwhile, Joerger and Vaughn are the only names on the list with previous head coaching experience.

Mike D’Antoni has also been mentioned as a potential target for the Pacers, but he remains active in the postseason with the Rockets and there’s no guarantee he’ll leave Houston when his contract expires.

Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard has spoken about wanting to hire a head coach who takes a “modern approach” to the game and has the ability to connect with younger players. McMillan’s old-school approach to offense was believed to be one reason why Indiana made a change.

Warriors, Thunder, Heat Hold Largest TPEs

A number of traded player exceptions that were scheduled to expire in July had their deadlines pushed back to coincide with the NBA’s revamped offseason schedule. In order to give teams the opportunity to maximize their resources, the expiration dates for those trade exceptions have been postponed to ensure they fall after the start of 2020 free agency.

For instance, the Warriors‘ $17.2MM traded player exception, generated in last July’s Andre Iguodala deal, had initially been set to expire on July 7, one year after the team traded Iguodala and one day after the NBA’s July moratorium ended. Now, with the free agency moratorium scheduled to end on October 23, Golden State’s TPE will expire on October 24, giving the team a small window to use it.

Presumably, if free agency gets delayed again, as has been rumored, the deadlines for that Warriors TPE and others would be pushed back again too.

As we explain in greater depth in our glossary entry, traded player exceptions allow over-the-cap teams to acquire players without needing to match salaries. The Warriors’ Iguodala trade exception is the one that’s most frequently discussed and speculated about, but Golden State isn’t the only team with a TPE that could come in handy this offseason.

Listed below are the 10 most valuable trade exceptions still available, along with their current expiration dates. Teams that go below the cap to use their cap room this offseason will have to forfeit these TPEs to do so.

  1. Golden State Warriors: $17,185,185 (10/24/20)
  2. Oklahoma City Thunder: $10,389,997 (10/27/20)
  3. Oklahoma City Thunder: $9,346,153 (10/25/20)
  4. Miami Heat: $7,533,867 (2/8/21)
  5. Portland Trail Blazers: $7,069,662 (1/21/21)
  6. Memphis Grizzlies: $4,736,842 (10/25/20)
  7. Memphis Grizzlies: $4,185,185 (2/8/21)
  8. New York Knicks: $3,988,766 (2/8/21)
  9. Cleveland Cavaliers: $3,837,500 (12/24/20)
  10. Houston Rockets: $3,595,333 (2/5/21)

Check out our tracker for the full list of available traded player exceptions.

No Long-Term Concerns About Lillard's Knee

Damian Lillard‘s season came to an early end after he was diagnosed with a right knee sprain, which sidelined him for the end of the Trail Blazers‘ first-round series against the Lakers and forced him to leave the NBA’s campus for further evaluation.

Having undergone that re-evaluation, Lillard had the initial diagnosis of a “mild” sprain confirmed, according to Shams Charania of Stadium (video link), who reports that the Trail Blazers have no long-term concerns about their star point guard’s knee. He’ll be good to go for the start of next season.

Blazers Won't Rebuild As Long As They Have Lillard

  • The presence of Damian Lillard prevents the Trail Blazers from thinking about rebuilding, observes Royce Young of ESPN. Still in his prime at age 30, the star guard always gives the organization a chance to be competitive, as he showed in Orlando before being injured. Young notes that as long as Lillard remains in Portland, the team will remain committed to building around him and CJ McCollum in the backcourt. He adds that management values continuity, and with Carmelo Anthony and Hassan Whiteside the only rotation players not under contract for next season, the front office views the team more as the Western Conference finalists from last season rather than the one that struggled to make the playoffs this year.

Carmelo Anthony: “I Think I’ve Found A Home In Portland”

After resurrecting his career with the Trail Blazers, Carmelo Anthony is hoping to return to the team next season, writes Jason Quick of The Athletic. Speaking with reporters after Portland was eliminated from the playoffs Saturday night, the 36-year-old free-agent-to-be talked about his desire to re-sign with the organization.

“I pray that it can be Portland, honestly,” Anthony said. “I think I’ve found a home in Portland. I got comfortable with the organization, I got comfortable with the guys on the team, they got comfortable with me, and at this point in my career, I do think that is the best fit for me.”

Anthony was out of the NBA for more than a year before the Blazers took a chance on him in November after Zach Collins suffered a dislocated shoulder. Anthony’s original contract wasn’t guaranteed until January, but his performance on the court and his role in the locker room quickly proved he was worth keeping. After two weeks, Portland guaranteed the deal for the rest of the season.

Anthony said he changed his priorities during the time he spent away from the game and the Blazers turned out to be a perfect fit for him, Quick adds. The veteran forward cited transparency from the front office, his relationship with teammates and the philosophy used by coach Terry Stotts.

“Being able to have another opportunity at this game — Portland if you want to say ‘revive’ is the word — allowed me to come in and just be myself and who I am,” Anthony said. “So I will always be appreciative of that. Being on this team, I’ve learned a lot. Being out of the game for a year, then coming back and having a different perspective on things, a different appreciation, but also a different energy. That time off forced me to tap into something else, dig deep in the well, from a mental standpoint.”

Quick notes that Anthony returning to Portland isn’t a sure thing, with money and playing time both factoring into the decision. Anthony signed this season at the league minimum for a player with 10-plus years of experience, and he may get better offers from other teams. The Blazers view Collins as part of their foundation, and small forwards Rodney Hood and Trevor Ariza are both expected back next season.

Still, there are positive feelings on both sides after one of the few feel-good stories in a difficult NBA season. Anthony has grown to love Portland, and his teammates will expect the organization to do everything it can to keep him.

“I think one of the highlights of this season was really the fact that Melo came and played for the Blazers … was special,” Stotts said. “What he meant to the team and the way he conducted himself, and the way he played. In the bubble, he made some big shots and got us into the playoffs. So I feel very honored to have been able to coach him. He’s a Hall of Fame player and a Hall of Fame guy.”

Former NBA All-Star Cliff Robinson Passes Away

Former NBA All-Star, Sixth Man of the Year, and veteran of 18 seasons Cliff Robinson has passed away, Claudine Ewing of WGRZ-TV first reported (Twitter link). He was 53.

Across his 18 seasons, Robinson suited up for the Trail Blazers, Suns, Pistons, Warriors and Nets. After a standout showcase at UConn, Robinson was drafted by Portland in the second round (36th overall) of the 1989 NBA Draft.

During his eight-year run in Portland, Robinson became a weapon off the bench as he appeared in all 82 games for his first five seasons. Robinson became the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year for the 1992/93 season, then an All-Star in 1993/94 when he moved into the starting lineup.

Robinson remained a double-digit scoring weapon for most of his post-Portland career before he retired from the league following the 2006/07 campaign. He appeared in 1,380 total regular season games and another 141 postseason contests over the course of his NBA career, averaging 14.2 PPG and 4.6 RPG.

The Buffalo, New York native had experienced some health problems in recent years. In 2017, Robinson suffered a brain hemorrhage that temporarily paralyzed the left side of his body, according to the Portland Tribune. Then, in 2018, he underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his jaw, per KATU.

Hoops Rumors sends our condolences to Robinson’s family and friends.