The Portland Trail Blazers will require backups at certain positions in 2021. Which former Blazers could they sign to fill these gaps?
The Portland Trail Blazers have most of their rotation pieces sorted for the 2021 season. Bar a few positions, they have their starting five and some backups under contract for 2021 and beyond.
Rodney Hood is almost certain to opt into his player option, and Trevor Ariza is likely to have his contract guaranteed. When this happens, the Blazers will be just a few pieces away from a full 15-man roster.
The last few roster spots/signings are always interesting, though. The Blazers’ gaps are at backup center, on the wing, and bench shooting. Though Hood is almost certain to opt-in because of his injury, I’m not certain about his contribution when he returns. He may still be the same player he was before injury, but if he doesn’t return to that level, or if it takes a little while, then the Blazers will need another backup shooter.
Wing defense is the same. Hood isn’t a great defender, and with Ariza’s likely guarantee, this would leave just him and Trent as the only plus defenders that aren’t big men. They do need one more piece in that spot.o
With the Blazers wanting to use the full mid-level exception and probably wanting to stay under the luxury tax, they will probably let Hassan Whiteside walk as well. Whiteside will want more than a backup salary, which isn’t smart for the Blazers to hand out.
This will mean they likely need a backup big as well.
There are some former Blazers that could fit the bill and make a seamless fit back into the team with their prior experience of the systems and personnel.