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The Portland Trail Blazers made it further than they ever have before in the Damian Lillard era, advancing all the way to the Western Conference Finals before running into the buzzsaw that was the Golden State Warriors.
Of course, not many people outside of Charles Barkley and maybe few fans in Portland expected the Blazers to beat the Warriors, so the loss did not come as much of a surprise, but the way Lillard and Co. lost was a sobering reality that showed just how far away Portland really is from seriously contending for a title.
This was a four-game sweep that was never really in doubt, sending the Blazers into a summer full of questions.
We heard the report that Portland is likely to sign Lillard to a supermax deal, which is awesome, but where will the improvements come from?
Without any cap space, it will be tough for Portland to make any significant moves, but here are a few predictions for what the Blazers will at least attempt to do this offseason:
3. Shed Salary
This will be tough to do, but the Blazers will likely find a way to shed some cap space somehow.
Evan Turner, Meyers Leonard and Maurice Harkless are in line to make in the neighborhood of a combined $41 million next year, and while they will all come off the books at the end of next season, the Blazers might try to dump them to clear some salary now.
Keep in mind that Al-Farouq Aminu and Seth Curry are both free agents this summer, and Portland would almost surely like to re-sign both, but that will be incredibly difficult given how horrendous the Blazers' cap situation is at the moment.
Of course, it might take sweetening the pot to unload some of these players, so Portland may have to attach draft picks or a young player. It's unlikely that trade partners would even go for that, but the Blazers have to try.
2. They'll Lose Al-Farouq Aminu and Seth Curry
I know I just mentioned that Portland would probably like to re-sign Aminu and Curry, but I just don't see how that can happen.
Aminu made just under $7 million this season, and in a league where floor spacing and the ability to guard multiple positions reigns supreme, I just don't see how the Blazers will be able to afford to keep him.
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While Aminu is hardly a deadeye shooter, he did make 34.3 percent of his threes this year, which is respectable, especially when you consider the fact that he can defend just about any position.
He is also just 28 years old, so someone will likely overpay him this summer, which means the Blazers will end up losing him, and that will hurt.
As for Curry? He is a sharpshooter who made a measly $2.8 million this season. The man made 45 percent of his triples on the year, so there will be a team out there willing to shell out some cash for the lesser Curry brother.
1. They'll Try to Add a Third Star
It's blatantly obvious that the Blazers need a third star to complement Lillard and C.J. McCollum, and no; Jusuf Nurkic is not that guy.
Portland either needs a star on the wing or a star on the block, but the problem is the Blazers don't have the cap space to just go out and sign one in free agency. They would have to make a trade, and they are relatively thin on assets as it is.
Portland's most impressive trade pieces are probably Zach Collins, Gary Trent Jr. and Anfernee Simons, and while Collins is actually a really nice prospect, he isn't enough on his own to make another team want him back as a centerpiece of a trade.
It's not like the Blazers have any high draft picks, either.
Nevertheless, Portland will surely scour the market for someone, perhaps looking for a team looking to trade a star that it feels may be making a bit too much money (Blake Griffin, perhaps?).
More than likely, though, the Blazers will enter next season with a similar group of talent.
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