Allen Crabbe’s departure opens plenty of minutes to be fought over in Portland this season.
The Portland Trail Blazers didn’t experience major lineup changes this offseason. Only the trade involving Allen Crabbe disrupted the usual rotation from last year.
Dumping his contract with the Brooklyn Nets freed up nearly 30 minutes of floor time per night.
The return from Brooklyn, Andrew Nicholson, won’t absorb any of these minutes as he was waived shortly after.
Where will those extra minutes go?
Let’s go player by player through Portland’s roster and divide up the vacated time accordingly.
Damian Lillard
35.9 minutes in 2016-2017 | 35.2 in 2017-2018
The last four seasons, Damian Lillard played 35.8, 35.7, 35.7 and 35.9 minutes per game. His role for Portland hasn’t changed, so expect 35 minutes nightly for the fifth season running.
C.J. McCollum
35.0 in 2016-2017 | 35.8 in 2017-2018
Sure, the Blazers are holding shooting guard tryouts right now. But will C.J. McCollum lose any minutes at the second guard spot? No.
With Crabbe gone, he might even pick up more time at SG and let Shabazz Napier run the point.
Jusuf Nurkić
29.2 in 2016-2017 | 30.5 in 2017-2018
Jusuf Nurkić is the clear starting center in Portland. What will affect his minutes most are injuries, stamina and foul trouble.
He’s put in a lot of work this offseason to eliminate those durability/maturity questions. Coach Terry Stotts will find it hard to keep the Bosnian Beast off the court if he produces anywhere near his last year’s numbers.
Al-Farouq Aminu
29.1 in 2016-2017 | 28.7 in 2017-2018
Moe Harkless is now Coach Stotts’ go-to forward. Al-Farouq Aminu started just 25 games last season, and bad shooting percentages only hurts his time going forward.
Maurice Harkless
28.9 in 2016-2017 | 31.0 in 2017-2018
Of the 77 games he played, Harkless started 69 of them. He surpassed Aminu as the defensive utility man, and he occasionally became a power forward in small lineups.
Coming off a career shooting season, offensive growth will only contribute to Moe’s minutes.
Evan Turner
25.5 in 2016-2017 | 29.5 in 2017-2018
Evan Turner stands for the biggest gain now that Crabbe is gone. He’ll split time between reserve shooting guard and small forward, but is the No. 1 option offensively for the bench unit.
Ed Davis
17.2 in 2016-2017 | 15.5 in 2017-2018
Time isn’t Ed Davis’s priority. He’s keen on making up for last season’s lackluster effort.
Ed, barring further injury, will be the bench’s defensive rock. Rookie Zach Collins might join him in backing up Nurkić, a possibly busy job given Nurk’s history of foul trouble.
Noah Vonleh
17.1 in 2016-2017 | 16.7 in 2017-2018
Noah Vonleh is still just 22 years old. For that reason, he sits ahead of Meyers Leonard at backup power forward.
To add size, Vonleh might crack the starting lineup periodically (i.e. against the New Orleans Pelicans).
Meyers Leonard
16.5 in 2016-2017 | 15.0 in 2017-2018
Leonard keeps disappointing Rip City fans. He claims to have made strides in his game this offseason, but the younger and more dynamic Swanigan should steal his minutes as the season progresses.
Also, Vonleh is the preferred backup forward over Leonard.
Shabazz Napier
9.7 in 2016-2017 | 14.3 in 2017-2018
Napier is an underwhelming shooter, but he’s Portland’s only backup point guard.
No Crabbe means no clear reserve shooting guard, so McCollum might take that spot and let Napier run point when Lillard’s on the bench.
Pat Connaughton
8.1 in 2016-2017 | 6.6 in 2017-2018
Pat Connaughton missed his chance to show out in Summer League. Fortunately for him, the Blazers still decided to gurantee his contract this season.
He won’t see any more floor time than last year, despite a backup guard spot being vacant.
Jake Layman
7.1 in 2016-2017 | 7.1 in 2017-2018
Like Connaughton, Jake Layman did not turn heads with his Summer League play. Continued struggles from beyond the arc prevent him from picking up any time.
Zach Collins
12.4 in 2017-2018
Collins and Davis fall in behind Nurkić at center. Certain games might call for more time (Nurk foul trouble). Overall, they’ll alternate as the big man of the second unit.
Caleb Swanigan
14.7 in 2017-2018
Swanigan surprised everyone in Summer League. He led the Blazers to the Championship game, and made the SL First Team.
His hustle and rebounding might earn him minutes straight from Leonard and Vonleh at power forward.
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C.J. Wilcox
4.5 in 2017-2018
C.J. Wilcox was signed to Portland’s first (and only, so far) two-way contract this summer. He, like Connaughton and Layman, should only see time in late-game blowout situations.
*Note: Minute predictions are subject to change due to injury, or the signings of Isaiah Briscoe, Anthony Morrow and/or Archie Goodwin.
Additionally, Terry Stotts likes experimenting with different starting lineups, affecting nightly minutes based on matchups.