November Roundtable: Answering the Trail Blazers’ biggest questions

Rip City Project weighs in on the question marks surrounding this Portland Trail Blazers team as the 2019-20 season gets into full swing.

The Portland Trail Blazers have a very interesting and unpredictable season ready to unfold right before our eyes. Rip City Project got together for the first time in the 2019-20 season to discuss what to expect this year.

Site Expert Austin Carroll and Contributors Isaac Baker, Carson Brown and Ryan Gaskin all share their opinions on the hot topics floating around Blazers basketball.

1. Will CJ McCollum earn his first All-Star selection this year?

Yes — Carroll, Gaskin

No — Baker, Brown

2. When should Jusuf Nurkic make his return?

Not until he’s 100 percent — 4 votes

ASAP, Portland needs him — 0 votes

3. Which new addition has made the best early impression?

Hassan Whiteside — Brown, Carroll

Kent Bazemore — Gaskin

Mario Hezonja — Baker

4. Which player should the Blazers make a trade for?

Blake Griffin — Brown, Gaskin

Bismack Biyombo — Baker

Danilo Gallinari — Carroll

5. Who will have the better season: Collins or Simons?

Zach Collins — 4 votes

Anfernee Simons — 0 votes

6. Which of these events is most likely to happen?

Damian Lillard wins MVP — Baker, Gaskin

Trail Blazers win championship — Brown

Mario Hezonja wins Most Improved Player — Carroll

Anfernee Simons wins Sixth Man of the Year — 0 votes

7. Does Portland begin a rebuild if they fail in the first round again?

"“I would not, as we still wouldn’t have seen a completely healthy postseason from all 3 of Dame, CJ and Nurkic.” — Baker"

"“Not yet. Lillard and McCollum remain young and in the midst of their primes.” — Brown"

"“Could they even if they wanted to? The Blazers are now locked into the backcourt duo of Lillard and McCollum through 2024. This is their window, and not doing everything in their power to build a contender around these two would be a catastrophic failure on the front office’s part.” — Carroll"

"“No rebuild. The NBA is wide open right now. There is no clear #1 contender and the Blazers definitely have a top six roster in the NBA.” — Gaskin"

8. What 3 things need to go right for the Blazers to win a championship?

"“Everybody has to stay healthy. The bench needs to score consistently. Whiteside and Collins need be a dominant duo almost every night.” — Baker"

"“Role players need to be consistent, Collins and Simons need to make “the jump”, and Nurkic comes back ready to hoop.” — Brown"

"“Hassan Whiteside needs to prove his worth (either as a rotation piece or a potential trade chip), Mario Hezonja needs to become a primary playmaker off the bench, and CJ needs to prove he can be a first option alongside Dame on any given night.” — Carroll"

"“Nurkic has to come back quick, and hit the ground running when he does. Zach Collins making a leap. Role players hit 3s at a consistent clip.” — Gaskin"

9. What 3 things are most likely to go wrong for Portland this year?

"“The bench might not have enough fire power. Lack of facilitators on roster. Collins and Whiteside both struggle defending the perimeter, which means stretch bigs will give us major problems this season.” — Baker"

"“Matching up with small forwards is going to be an issue, shooting slumps, and defense in general is an issue.” — Brown"

"“Whiteside. Bench struggles. Get drowned out in the West.” — Gaskin"

Check back in next month as Rip City Project continues to break down the biggest questions surrounding the Portland Trail Blazers as the season progresses.