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Portland Trail Blazers: 5 important decisions to make in the off-season

By Stevie Cozens

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: Carmelo Anthony #00 of the Portland Trail Blazers reacts after being called for a foul against the Los Angeles Lakers during the third quarter in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 29, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. 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. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: Carmelo Anthony #00 of the Portland Trail Blazers reacts after being called for a foul against the Los Angeles Lakers during the third quarter in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 29, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. 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. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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The Portland Trail Blazers have an important off-season ahead of them. Which five decisions are key to their fortunes in the 2021 season?

The Portland Trail Blazers recently finished a challenging but still satisfying season. With free agency and the draft on the way, they have a few decisions to make to prepare for the 2021 season.

As they will be healthy next season, while also having MVP candidate Damian Lillard in his peak, they need to maximize their window in terms of playoff contention. This off-season is a pivotal one in lots of ways.

Portland Trail Blazers have five crucial decisions to make in the offseason

Decision one – Trevor Ariza’s contract guarantee

This one is important in many ways. Trevor Ariza is the only NBA quality small forward on the roster. Also, he is the only legitimate trade piece that this team has.

Ariza has a partial guarantee on his contract for the 2021 season for just $1.8 million. The full amount is $12.8 million. Though this decision is obviously an important one, I feel it’s pretty straight forward.

If the Blazers don’t guarantee his contract, then he probably walks. That would mean he would pocket the $1.8 million, and we would lose him for nothing. We couldn’t trade him, he would just leave, and even worse – we would have no way to replace him as we have almost no cap space.

By guaranteeing his contract, we have an NBA quality small forward who can defend the big forwards in this league, and we have a $12.8 million contract that we could use to aggregate with a smaller contract or a pick to bring back a younger player.

This decision seems like a no-brainer to me, but the financial direction of the team could potentially be up in the air. This decision will indicate if ownership wants to operate as an under the cap or an over the cap team. Maybe Jody Allen has decided that she wants to spend less on the team after we saw potential cost-cutting moves in the 19/20 season