Not many times does an NBA team get the chance to start fresh and carry on a season the way it first envisioned it. See, the offseason is often time for optimism, wild prediction, and overwhelming anxiety.

When the Portland Trail Blazers started their 2019-20 campaign after being swept in the Western Conference Finals by the Golden State Warriors, no one was hot-takey enough to dart them and Damian Lillard out of the playoff picture. Not by a long shot.

The Blazers got off to a 5-9 mark to begin the season before Carmelo Anthony was signed as a reinforcement following Zach Collins' injury. While he was a welcome addition, Portland had a steep climb to make with other teams also vying for the last playoff spot.

Then the coronavirus pandemic hit … and it looked like the Blazers' season may come to a disappointing end.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had a playoffs-only format in mind before resolving to invite 22 teams to the bubble at Walt Disney World in Orlando. The initial optics were that the league was trying to help teams meet their TV revenue quota, which prompted Lillard to say the following to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports back in late May:

“If we come back and they’re just like, ‘We’re adding a few games to finish the regular season,’ and they’re throwing us out there for meaningless games and we don’t have a true opportunity to get into the playoffs, I’m going to be with my team because I’m a part of the team. But I’m not going to be participating. I’m telling you that right now. And you can put that [expletive] in there.”

Oh, how things have changed.

The return of Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic has Portland looking like a very different beast, one that now stands a very realistic chance of leapfrogging the young Memphis Grizzlies, who have struggled to an 0-4 start in the restart.

Lillard and the Blazers, meanwhile, have gotten off to a 3-1 restart, including an opening win against the Grizzlies, now standing a mere half-game away from the eighth spot.

Not many envisioned the tables turning the way that they have, as it could be Ja Morant and company — or even Devin Booker and the thriving Phoenix Suns — fighting to wrestle away the pole from a red-hot Blazers team.

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The Houston Rockets invested heavily into Fred VanVleet during the 2023 offseason. Houston gave the point guard a three-year, $128 million deal in a move that was meant to turn the Rockets from a rebuilding team into a championship contending one. The signing did just that, as the Rockets finished the 2024-25 regular season as the two-seed in a stacked Western Conference. VanVleet was the veteran presence and 3-point shooter that the team desperately needed, and he still might have a role with the Rockets going forward. Houston has a team option on his contract for next year, and they very well may pick it up. The Wichita State product reportedly wants to stay in Houston, but the point guard would be set to make over $44 million next season under his current contract. The Rockets and their guard recently pushed back the deadline on Houston's decision with VanVleet, and although reports suggest that they are interested in writing up a new, long-term deal, it isn't necessarily a guarantee that VanVleet will be playing for Houston next year. The Rockets blew him away with an offer he couldn't refuse back in 2023, and another team could so the same when/if he hits the open market this offseason. If VanVleet does become an unrestricted free agent, which teams outside of Houston would make the most sense for him to sign with? 1. Orlando Magic Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner recently signed big deals with the Orlando Magic, and Paolo Banchero will be getting a mega contract extension here soon. Because of that, the Magic no longer have money to blow like they have had in recent years. That will make a deal for another big ticket free agent hard to pull off, especially considering the team signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope last year. If Orlando can make the money work, though, then Fred VanVleet would be a great fit with the Magic. The Magic finished dead last in 3-point shooting this season, and VanVleet has made at least 2.5 deep balls per game in every season since 2018-19. VanVleet can hit shots form behind the arc off of the bounce or in catch-and-shoot situations. The Rockets were heavily reliant on his shooting expertise, so the guard would have plenty of familiarity getting up deep shots with high volume if he signed with the Magic. While undersized, VanVleet is a pesky defender, so he'd fit right in with a Magic team that has one of the best defensive units in the league. VanVleet could play alongside Suggs and give opposing teams fits. Ultimately, though, the Magic just need more shooting to get to the next level, and VanVleet is arguably the best shooter who could be available on the open market this offseason. 2. Brooklyn Nets A more realistic option for a VanVleet destination would be the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are set up to have the most cap space this offseason, and they have a major need at point guard. With D'Angelo Russell and De'Anthony Melton hitting free agency this offseason, the Nets don't have a true point guard under contract for next season. Brooklyn needs to spend big this offseason, and they'd be smart to offer VanVleet a contract big enough that he'd have no choice but to leave Houston. VanVleet averaged 14.1 points per game last season, which was his lowest mark since 2018-19. He is trending the wrong way, but he still has enough left in the tank to give the Nets a few good seasons. 3. Portland Trail Blazers In the same way that the Rockets were looking to take the next step in 2023, the Portland Trail Blazers could use VanVleet's presence to get over the hump. The Trail Blazers have plenty of big man depth, as centers Deandre Ayton, Donovan Clingan, Robert Williams, and Duop Death are all under contract next season. Portland also has a lot of wing depth. Deni Advija started to look like a star late this past season, Toumani Camara is an elite defender, Shaedon Sharpe is a freakish athlete, and Jerami Grant is a proven scorer. The team is thinner in the backcourt, though. Anfernee Simons is a solid scorer, but Scoot Henderson has looked like a fringe draft bust since being drafted third overall. Portland shouldn't give up on Henderson completely, but there wouldn't be any harm in signing another guard. Like the Magic, the Blazers were one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA. VanVleet would improve that weakness, and in a stacked Western Conference, Portland needs all of the help they can get if they are to compete for a playoff spot.
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The clearest case was on Thursday, when Lillard put forth his best Klay Thompson Game 6 performance, burying 11 triples against the Denver Nuggets in an incandescent 45-point, 12-assist effort.

Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Gary Trent Jr. accounted for 21 of the Blazers' 23 3-pointers in the game, firing away against a Nuggets team that dealt a heavy dose of Michael Porter Jr. without Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, or Will Barton available.

The Blazers might have struck some luck against an off-kilter Grizzlies team and an unarmed Nuggets squad, but that is what making the most of an opportunity is all about.

There are so few chances to gain a second wind; they almost never happen. Sometimes it's a midseason trade, sometimes it's a coaching change, but there has never been a four-month hiatus and the ability to get two key cogs back in the lineup close to full health.

Portland was given a talisman to go back into the past and fix what was broken, so rest assured that Damian Lillard and company won't take their foot off the throttle with such a big chance at hand.

Their remaining four games aren't easy, but it's no murderer's row. First a matinee clash with the Los Angeles Clippers on TNT, followed by a matchup against the likely Ben Simmons-less Philadelphia 76ers on NBA TV the very next day. Games against the struggling Dallas Mavericks and Brooklyn Nets will close out the remainder of the seeding schedule.

Damian Lillard and the Blazers know exactly what's at stake in this unprecedented opportunity — a second wind like no other that would give their trip to Orlando some meaning beyond the anecdotes of an oddball 2019-20 NBA season.