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Mailbag: Should the Trail Blazers add another ball handler?

By David MacKay

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The mailbag is now run through Twitter. If you would like to have your Trail Blazers questions discussed, follow @ripcityproject and send them our way.

I am of the opinion that Damian Lillard is at his best when he has a little help facilitating, but I don’t think the Trail Blazers need to go out of their way to bring in another ball handler. He pairs well enough with Steve Blake, who intends to return for the 2015-16 season. There is also a reasonable chance that Tim Frazier sticks around, as he has already been invited to participate in Summer League and training camp with the Trail Blazers. He was surprisingly effective at running the offense in short stints when given the opportunity.

But let’s take a quick look at Portland’s other options. If they want to bring in another ball dominant guard, they can do so via the NBA Draft or free agency.

The Trail Blazers possess the 23rd pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, meaning their window for drafting a point guard is pretty narrow. The only point guards consistently projected in the 20-30 range are Duke’s Tyus Jones, Utah’s Delon Wright (Dorell Wright’s younger brother), and Louisville’s Terry Rozier.

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Of those three, Jones is the best distributor. However; he is also rather small (6’1”) and too much of a liability on defense at this juncture. It is likely that he and Wright will be off the table by the time Portland makes their selection anyway. Rozier will be available, but is more of a volume scorer than anything else, and not a very efficient one.

Free agency is probably the better route for the Trail Blazers.

Operating under the assumption that things break their way and LaMarcus Aldridge (among others) re-signs in Portland, they are going to be in the market for players that can be had with the standard mid-level exception ($5.5 million for non-tax paying teams). This likely rules out guys like Rajon Rondo, but you knew that already.

In theory, the Trail Blazers could see if Jeremy Lin would bite on an offer sheet, but they would have the best luck with veterans hoping to receive more than the minimum as their careers wind down. The two most eligible candidates (unrestricted no less) are Mo Williams and Andre Miller, both of whom have played for Portland in recent years.

Another run with Williams would be fun, and he and Lillard worked well together, but I would love to see Miller return to the Rose City. Problem being, either of these players represent some degree of redundancy as long as Blake plays. The MLE would be better spent shoring up the wings or finding a suitable backup power forward.

The Trail Blazers are better off sticking with what they’ve got unless a bargain comes around. If Murray State’s Cameron Payne dropped to 23rd in the draft (not happening) I could see the Trail Blazers swooping on him, but outside of that, there is little incentive for Portland to focus their attentions on backcourt players.

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