Valuable Veteran Leadership
In their pursuit for a championship (and the players that would help them get there), maybe the Portland Trail Blazers forgot to look in the most obvious of places. If your goal is to successfully push through the gauntlet that is the NBA Playoffs, why not start adding players who have already successfully done it? The players we’ll be focusing on in this section bring as much value off the court as they do on the court, even at a cheaper price tag. Oddly enough, this same trio of players already has experience playing together, just to sweeten the pot.
As Blazers fans are probably all too familiar, Paul Millsap can flat-out ball. In the seven games the Blazers played against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semi-Finals, Millsap averaged 17.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. More importantly, Millsap was doing the little things that while they may not be flashy, quietly make the difference in close games against great teams.
In that series, he averaged 2.1 offensive rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. That adds up to over four extra offensive possessions for Denver per game. When three of those games were decided by four or less points, those little things can make all the difference.
Al Horford is cool as an ice-cube. Any player who could be a steadying force in the disastrous mess that was the Boston Celtics locker room last season would be an leader for the Blazers. Despite reports stating that Horford would like to remain in Boston, perhaps he’s changed his tune since Boston’s embarrassing playoff performance and the ever-increasing likelihood Kyrie takes his talents elsewhere.
If Horford opts into his player option for next year, he will have made just shy of $200 million in his career. The Portland Trail Blazers could offer the five-time all-star a lucrative yet team-friendly contract to take the extra step toward being a title contender. Horford would bridge the gap during Nurkic’s recovery and serve as an excellent mentor to Portland’s band of promising big men including Nurkic, Zach Collins and Meyers Leonard.
Set to turn 39-years-old before 2020’s free agency period, Kyle Korver is easily the oldest player on this whole list. That being said, Korver could keep playing until he’s 50, provided he keeps knocking down three-pointers at a ridiculous rate. In 16 years, 1174 games and over 30,000 minutes played in the league, Korver has never been crowned an NBA champion.
If the Blazers continue properly developing their roster, they can possibly offer Korver that opportunity in a send-off season. By 2020, Korver will have made over $84 million dollars during his lengthy career. Money won’t be an issue when it comes to bringing Korver on board. If Korver wants to be a winner, and Portland wants to fix their shooting with one of the best snipers in the league coming off the bench, then this match is as good as it’s going to get. His presence in the locker room would easily be worth a minimum contract in its own right.