The Portland Trail Blazers season is now over after they fell 157-101 to the Golden State Warriors in the final game of the regular season. However, despite it being a game in which Blazers rookie wing Shaedon Sharpe and others continued to show promise, Portland clearly has their mind set on being much more successful next season.
Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, speaking on the idea of re-tooling the roster with minor tweaks, was candid in his assessment of that strategy.
“We've done the ‘tweak' thing a few times,” Billups reflects. “We've got to do more than that this summer if we want to do right by the best player in franchise history” (h/t Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report).
That player, one Damian Lillard, had arguably the best season of his career at 32-years-old.
The seven-time All-Star averaged 32.2 points and 7.3 assists per game while shooting 46.3 percent from the field, 37.1 percent from 3-point range, and 91.4 percent from the free-throw line.
Lillard has been tied to trade rumors due to his juxtaposition between his stature and the Blazers' success level. However, Dame still appears to be as loyal to the franchise as ever.
Perhaps if he wasn't, veteran forward Jerami Grant wouldn't expect to re-sign with Portland in free agency, per Highkin.
Grant, prized for his two-way impact, averaged 20.5 points per game this season on 47.5 percent shooting and 40.1 percent shooting from deep.
The question remains though; how exactly will the Blazers improve their roster?
Sharpe, an excellent off-ball threat and leaper that can be a connector for an offense, believes that he's ready to start. The seventh overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, he averaged 14.5 points per game on 46.8 percent shooting from the field and 37.4 percent shooting from 3.
Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkic will also play important roles for the team, though it's unclear if they — as well as Sharpe — will be their future starting five. Though a dangerous offensive lineup, they lack defensive prowess.
To that point though, adding veterans could be the route, especially for a team with playoff ambitions.
In fact, Nurkic says that he and Grant discussed that option adding more experienced player to the roster moving forward.
Whatever Portland chooses to do, the eyes of the nation will be on them.
As Billups alluded to, they have likely the top player in franchise history. However, the clock is ticking for Dame Time.
Will the Blazers answer the call?
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