Four questions as the Portland Trail Blazers head into training camp

The Portland Trail Blazers training camp is almost upon us. Here are a few questions regarding the team as they prepare for the NBA season.

Oh, NBA Media Day and training camp. The time when fans finally get all of their speculations over their favorite teams half-answered. The Portland Trail Blazers host their Media Day on September 24 and open their training camp the following day.

Here are four questions we may gain more insight to as the team comes together:

Who will the Blazers play at the four with Zach Collins at the five?

Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey has spoken about wanting to give Zach Collins more time at the five this upcoming season. And the idea seems smart. Collins is a legitimate seven-footer who can defend the paint, shoot from all around the floor, and has the opportunity to fill that position since Ed Davis left for Brooklyn.

If all goes according to plan, Collins may turn into what Toronto thought they were getting when they signed Serge Ibaka.

However, with Collins playing the five, a question perks up: who will play the four alongside him?

In NBA Summer League, the Blazers looked to set Collins up for post-ups. He was unimpressive in this role. But if the plan is to make him into a low-post threat, that may mean Portland is best served playing a stretchy four like *gulp* Meyers Leonard with him.

Hopefully, the Blazers instead choose to keep Collins more as a face-up player. (I don’t think I could take myself seriously trying to buy into Leonard.)

If this were the case, then maybe coach Terry Stotts experiments with playing Maurice Harkless at power forward in second-units. Harkless is six-foot-eight and has the length to defend taller defenders. And his mobility and competent three-point shooting could open the floor for when CJ McCollum is out there alongside Seth Curry, Nik Stauskas, or Evan Turner.

My fingers are crossed that Collins is used as a five to provide volatile shooting lineups that allow guys like Turner to be more effective as a facilitator and sets Damian Lillard and McCollum up for wide-open lanes to get buckets.

Does Gary Payton II have any shot at making the roster?

Gary Payton II was recently invited to Portland’s training camp, along with Chinanu Onuaku and Cam Oliver, per Adrian Wojnarowski.

Payton is definitely talented, but his talents seem redundant with what the Blazers already have in their loaded backcourt.

He’s shown flashes of being a great defender, but so has Wade Baldwin IV. And Payton (25) is four years older than Baldwin.

He’s got a decent shooting stroke but hasn’t been accurate in his limited appearances. And it would be strange if the Blazers wanted to develop this side of him since they just signed Curry and Stauskas this offseason.

It’ll be curious to see if there’s any sort of excitement over his appearance at Portland’s training facilities. As of now, I’d say it’s highly unlikely we hear anything more about him – other than the Blazers choosing not to extend a two-way contract to him.

Will we get footage of Blazers players laughing at Onuaku shooting free throws underhanded?

That’s right, other training camp invitee Chinanu Onuaku shoots his free throws underhanded. And it’ll be fun to see if anything’s made of this on social media.

Cue the tweets: “Granny-style? This guy is garbage!”

But Onuaku is not garbage. At least, I don’t think so. In fact, I think he could actually turn into a decent running mate for Collins.

He’s no shooter by any means (except from the free throw line), but he has the mobility to run with the Blazers on offense and the length to help on defense.

I could see there being some genuine intrigue over him that develops over training camp.

Is Seth Curry back?

Curry hasn’t played an NBA game in over a year due to a stress fracture in his left tibia.

Like his brother, he is a knockdown shooter from outside, and may prove to be better in other facets of his game than he’s recently been given credit for.

Thankfully, the injury that sidelined last year him shouldn’t hinder him athletically. And if Curry comes into training camp looking like he did in Dallas two years ago – or even better – there could quickly be talk over his being a Sixth Man of the Year candidate.

Look for the Blazers to be giddy over the types of versatile offensive lineups they could put out this season with Curry at the helm or as a complementary option alongside Dame and CJ.

But the most important part about Media Day and training camp is that it means the NBA season is almost here. Get hyped, Rip City fans!