Lowering the Bar: How the 76ers Have Helped the Trail Blazers

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The Rip City offseason has been described by several different phrases.  Ranging from “youth movement” to “a roster with room to grow”, one term that has been mysteriously left out is “rebuild”.  This omission could be attributed to Portland fan’s refusal to accept another roster reconstruction(see, dodging rebuild in my own article).  But, it is also plausible that the expectations for a rebuilding season are at an all-time low.  Currently the rebuild bar is so low even Peter Dinklage would struggle to limbo under it.  So, how did the new rebuild standard get so bad, and how is a Blazers roster that lost four of it five starters above it?

Dec 2, 2013; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) speaks with small forward Nicolas Batum (88), point guard Damian Lillard (0), center Robin Lopez (42) and shooting guard Wesley Matthews (2)

Teams are forced into rebuilds for a litany of reasons: roster age(Celtics), injury(Blazers), free agent departure(Cavaliers), peaked talent(76ers).  Just as franchises find themselves in a rebuild for various causes, they also try to find their way out by various means.  The newest take on rebuilding is the one currently heading into year four in Philadelphia.

76ers GM Sam Hinkie has officially turned into the NBA’s resident cynic.  They are unapologetic about their attempts at losing as much possible to tilt the NBA lottery in their favor.  This is common practice for NBA teams in the lottery era(1985-Present), but most teams at least make an attempt to add competitive talent in the process.

“76ers GM Sam Hinkie has officially turned into the NBA’s resident cynic.  They are unapologetic about their attempts at losing as much possible to tilt the NBA lottery in their favor.”

For the last four years the Sixers have waded through a waste land of D-League scraps and lottery picks.  The NBA draft is far from a guarantee(Greg Oden), but Philadelphia has had relative success in finding young talent.  In the 2013 they drafted point guard Michael Carter-Williams out of Syracuse.  He then went on to win NBA Rookie of the Year.  Most GM’s would view this as a piece to build a young roster around; not Hinkie. He viewed it as a asset he could turn into a future first round pick.  In the 2014 NBA draft the 76ers found another talent in 2nd round pick K.J. McDaniels.  Most GM’s in a rebuild would see this athletic wing defender as a future starter.  Not Hinkie.

Jan 16, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Nerlens Noel (4) and guard Michael Carter-Williams (1) and forward Jerami Grant (39)

It appears that Hinkie actually thinks he is Bill Murray’s character from Groundhog Day.  Every day he wakes up in the same state, constantly trading assets for future assets.  This practice may work on Wall Street, but doesn’t work if you are trying to produce basketball worth watching.  If Hinkie would have invested in some of the talent that came through his roster it could reasonably look like this:

PG – Carter-Williams / SG – McDaniels / SF – Robert Covington / PF – Aaron Gordon / C – Nerlens Noel / 6th Man – Mario Hezonja 

(Oldest player in that starting five would be Covington at 24)

Instead it looks like this:

PG – Kendall Marshall / SG – Nik Stauskas / SF – Robert Covington / PF – Nerlens Noel / C – Jahlil Okafor / 6th Man – Tony Wroten 

(Oldest player would still be Covington)

You could at least argue that the fist team could be a fringe playoff team in the Eastern Conference this year.  You would also maintain massive cap flexibility, and become a more attractive location for a veteran free agent.  Instead, you have a team that has drafted three consecutive centers in the top ten(two have yet to see NBA minutes), and traded the 2014 ROY.

Combine all that with the leagues lowest attendance numbers and you now arrive at the new standard for an NBA rebuild.  Suddenly it becomes much more reasonable to leave the “R” word out when looking for superlatives to describe this coming Blazer season.

“Building a team your fans can believe in is something every GM should feel obligated to do.”

It is still hard for me to comprehend that just months ago I was arguing over how Aaron Afflalo might be the missing piece to a Rip City title.  Now, I am arguing over how the Blazers will reach thirty wins.  But, with Neil Olshey at the helm, the turnaround should be quick.

Oct 10, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) speaks with forward Al-Farouq Aminu (8)

The Blazers have added a lot of young talent in the offseason, and gave up virtually nothing in the process.  Unlike the Sixers, the Blazers have added cheap talent with a winning basketball culture in mind.  Mason Plumlee, Ed Davis, Noah Vonleh, and Al Farouq Aminu all present cheap options that can play now.  Every player on this roster(except Chris Kaman) are on the right side of their prime.  This should result in a cohesive unit primed for winning in a few short years.

While the Blazers might not win thirty games this year, they will be building around players that can win.  That alone puts them above the rebuild taking place in Philadelphia.  Building a title winner in the NBA is a tough task.  Building a team your fans can believe in is something every GM should feel obligated to do.  The latter task is a job Olshey has clearly shown to be more qualified for than Hinkie.

Traditional standards would call this season in Portland a clear rebuild.  But, with a little help from the 76ers, the Blazers are able to market this season as anything other than just that.  This year will no doubt have some rough patches, but at least we aren’t in Philly.