The Portland Trail Blazers' 2024-25 season should be considered an overall success. But seeing as they are one of the youngest teams in the league and won just 36 games, they still have plenty of room for improvement.
They experienced their fair share of painful but necessary growing pains along the way. The silver lining is that their youth was primarily responsible for the end-of-season push that catapulted them into the play-in conversation.
Their youth exceeded expectations while their veterans dropped the ball, signaling that the next step in their rebuild should be to clear the path for their young core.
Anfernee Simons
Anfernee Simons was the one player set to benefit most from Damian Lillard's trade request, given they have eerily similar styles of play -- especially since Chauncey Billups and the Blazers were trying to win games and not prioritizing Scoot Henderson as much as they should have.
But Simons' numbers disappointingly dipped. He averaged 19.3 points, 4.8 assists, and 2.7 rebounds on 43/36/90 shooting splits. His shortcomings as a defender and playmaker were supposed to be offset by elite three-point shooting. Instead, Simons shot just league average, his worst efficiency since his second season.
The counting stats don't highlight the biggest issue with Simons' season either, which was his inconsistent play. Blazers fans never knew which version of Simons would show up, which made it all the more frustrating given that his role came at the expense of players more likely to be part of the team’s next playoff core.
Jerami Grant
What's most surprising about the Blazers' season -- and most promising for their long-term outlook -- is that they significantly improved their win total despite the majority of their veterans having relatively down years. The most notable of which was their $160 million man, Jerami Grant. He was limited to just 47 games, averaging 14.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists during that stretch.
One refreshing thing about adding Deni Avdija to this group is that he brings the versatility Grant lacks. Grant is too one-dimensional and doesn't contribute much outside of scoring, which makes him more vulnerable to down seasons if he's not shooting the ball. That was the case this year, as he shot 37.3 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Hopefully, the Blazers can trade Grant this summer and get off his long-term contract. But his inefficient season is going to make it much more difficult.