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December Roundtable: How the Trail Blazers can tackle the New Year

By Austin Carroll

PORTLAND, OR - DECEMBER 28: Damian Lillard #0 and CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers smile before the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on December 28, 2019 at the Moda Center Arena 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 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - DECEMBER 28: Damian Lillard #0 and CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers smile before the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on December 28, 2019 at the Moda Center Arena 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 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Rip City Project gets back together to discuss the latest happenings with the Portland Trail Blazers before the New Year begins.

The New Year brings a bag of mixed goods for the Portland Trail Blazers. One side of things, the team will enter 2020 with a rather lackluster 14-20 record. On the other hand, just about everything that could go wrong for Portland already has, and they’re still on track to make the playoffs.

2020 will probably be filled with more “what ifs” after all these injuries, but 2020 will also bring on the return of the Bosnian Beast. There’s a lot to consider as a whole new 365 days and the second half of this basketball season rapidly approach, and Rip City Project got back together to discuss the latest news.

Here’s our take on the most recent discussion that has been floating around in the Trail Blazers’ social circle.

Contributors to this roundtable include: Austin Carroll, Stevie Cozens, Ryan Gaskin, Carson Brown, Isaac Baker, Andrew Zahnd and Ryan Mandel. Our previous articles can be found here.

Q1. Who is most responsible for Portland’s slow start?

Injuries — 5 votes

The supporting cast — 2 votes

Terry Stotts, the stars — 0 votes

Q2. Will Carmelo be a Blazer again next year?

Yes — 3 votes

No —  4 votes

Q3. Which player do you think is most likely to be dealt away before the trade deadline?

Kent Bazemore — 6 votes

Hassan Whiteside — 1 vote

Q4. What’s your favorite fan made trade proposal you’ve seen suggested for the Blazers?

"“ORL Gets: Zach Lavine, Tomas Satoransky CHI Gets: Hassan Whiteside, Kent Bazemore, Gary Trent Jr, 2020 POR 1st (Lotto Protected), 2020 ORL 1st (Lotto Protected), 2 Future POR 2nds POR Gets: Evan Fournier, Mohamed Bamba, Otto Porter, Al-Farouq Aminu… from @ToreyJonesYT” — Zahnd"

"“Kent Bazemore and Hassan Whiteside for Jae Crowder and Andre Iguodala” — Brown"

"“I’ve seen a few 3-team trades that involved Portland losing Whiteside, Bazemore and a couple of picks, but bringing in guys like Fournier, Bamba and Otto Porter Jr.” — Gaskin"

"“Baze and a pick for Covington” — Mandel"

"“Aaron Gordon for Bazemore and picks” — Baker"

Q5. Which area of the game do the Blazers need the most immediate help?

Perimeter defense — 3 votes

Playmaking and ball distribution — 2 votes

Bench production — 2 votes

Q6. Can Portland conceivably win a championship with CJ as the 2nd best player on the roster?

Yes — 2 votes

No — 5 votes

Q7. Imagine you’re Neil Olshey. Do you trade Whiteside before his contract expires or do you keep him to help ease Nurkic’s return? Why or why not?

"“Trade him. At this point in the season, it seems the ceiling is a 7 or 8 seed in the playoffs. There is no point in keeping Whiteside just to hit that ceiling. Let’s make moves that will help our future and set us up in a favorable position when the roster is healthy next season.” — Zahnd"

"“Trade him while his value is high. Trade him ASAP so he doesn’t walk for nothing.” — Brown"

"“Depends on if the Blazers realistically think they can make a run in the playoffs by that point. If I had to say, I’d lean towards trading Whiteside before the contract goes, as they’d like a decent return for him. The Blazers may already be looking to next season at that point.” — Gaskin"

"“This is a tough one. To do this they would need another center on the roster. If they can get one more big then yes I’d say they’d do it.” — Cozens"

"“Ease Nurk in unless a killer deal comes up. Trading HW would leave us with Moses Brown as our only center.”  — Mandel"

"“Keep him. Nurkic should be on a minute restriction when he comes back. So, there are still quite a few minutes to go around at center when Nurk is back.” — Baker"

Q8. The Lakers, Nuggets, Rockets, Mavericks and Clippers are the top 5 teams in the West right now. Which of these teams do the Blazers match up best against?

Rockets — 3 votes

Nuggets — 2 votes

Mavericks — 2 votes

Lakers, Clippers — 0 votes

Q9. Which of those teams would be the worst matchup for Portland?

Clippers — 5 votes

Lakers — 2 votes

Rockets, Nuggets, Mavericks — 0 votes

Next. 4 players most likely to be moved before trade deadline. dark

Here’s to hoping the New Year can bring the Portland Trail Blazre more fortune — after all, it would be awfully hard for it to get even worse than it already is.