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Visualizing the Portland Trail Blazers 2019-20 depth chart

By Austin Carroll

PORTLAND, OR - September 30: Zach Collins #33 Damian Lillard #0 and Jusuf Nurkic #27 of the Portland Trail Blazers look on during the team's annual Fan Fest open scrimmage September 30, 2018 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - September 30: Zach Collins #33 Damian Lillard #0 and Jusuf Nurkic #27 of the Portland Trail Blazers look on during the team's annual Fan Fest open scrimmage September 30, 2018 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Portland Trail Blazers – CJ McCollum and Rodney Hood (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
Portland Trail Blazers – CJ McCollum and Rodney Hood (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Shooting Guard Rotation

Starter: CJ McCollum

Again, there are no surprises here in the starting lineup so far. Much like Lillard, CJ McCollum has endeared himself to the Portland Trail Blazers organization and fan base while becoming a fundamental pillar the rest of the team builds off of.

Allowing Lillard and McCollum another year to develop up their chemistry and feed off each other’s energy is such an easy move even James Dolan couldn’t mess it up.

Last year’s playoffs proved that McCollum could pick up the slack when Lillard went cold and will remain the second option on offense for that reason. The Blazers added spacing to help the pair succeed with the Kent Bazemore trade and Anthony Tolliver signing while enlisting defensive assistance in the draft and the Hassan Whiteside trade.

This tandem is set for an encore performance worth remembering.

Bench: Rodney Hood, Gary Trent Jr

After re-upping with the Portland Trail Blazers for the bargain price of $5.7 million, Rodney Hood will lead the bench unit as a offensive catalyst capable of creating his own shot.

Hood has an already established chemistry with Lillard and McCollum and should be a perfect pairing next to Simons, who will be in the midst of a transition to a bigger role. Hood’s shot creation abilities nicely complement the team’s goal of turning Simons into a primary distributor.

Gary Trent Jr provides some valuable depth to this guard rotation, in the event anyone goes down due to injury. Although he did not see much play time last year, Trent contributed an impressive 19 points and 3 assists in the regular season finale game. Some time in the G League and developing a consistent 3-point shot will be crucial if he wants to see more play time moving forward.