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Portland Trail Blazers: Predicting the Blazers’ 2020-21 roster after the NBA Draft and free agency

By Marlow Ferguson Jr.

PORTLAND, OREGON - NOVEMBER 27: CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers loses the ball against Abdel Nader #11 and Danilo Gallinari #8 of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second quarter during their game at Moda Center on November 27, 2019 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 (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - NOVEMBER 27: CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers loses the ball against Abdel Nader #11 and Danilo Gallinari #8 of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second quarter during their game at Moda Center on November 27, 2019 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 (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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Portland Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Portland Trail Blazers. (Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports) /

The Portland Trail Blazers will have their pick of options in terms of how to build their roster for 2020-21. Here’s a prediction on how that 15-man roster will look when the season tips off.

Portland Trail Blazers general manager Neil Olshey may be a bit beyond his physical peak at 55-years-old. But hopefully, he’s well-stretched, because the 2020-21 offseason will be the limbo of a lifetime.

Within the next 192 hours, the Blazers will have undergone the 2020 NBA Draft, as well as the start of the NBA free agency period. That means big questions are in tow, in terms of how to most effectively build a championship team around Damian Lillard.

Here, you’ll find one fan’s projections on how the Blazers’ 15-man roster will look come Opening Day. But first, there are a few details to remember:

It would be remiss of me to not highlight Eric Griffith’s salary cap primer, which provides a bit of insight on just how much money the Portland Trail Blazers will have to spend.

There’s $9.8 million, give-or-take, in the MLE, as well as in the bi-annual exception, and the luxury tax helps the Blazers, should they prioritize continuity and familiarity during this phase.

Then, of course, there’s the veteran’s minimum and the No. 16 and No. 46 picks in which the Portland Trail Blazers will have an opportunity to improve the roster.

Just like 24 other teams in the NBA, the Blazers find themselves in the negatives, in terms of projected salary cap, meaning they’ll be using league exceptions to carve out the rest of the roster.

This in mind, here’s the first prediction on who runs the offense in Rip City for the 2020-21 campaign.

Portland Trail Blazers — Starting backcourt predictions:

— G: Damian Lillard
— G: CJ McCollum

Bold, right?

In a way, maybe it should be? At 28-years-old, CJ McCollum doesn’t necessarily have the tangible, box-score-visible statistics that suggest that his production is on the uptick, but he’s been the model of consistency, which makes some of the trade packages he’s been put in by the national media all the more puzzling.

The returns have ranged anywhere from Celtics guard Jaylen Brown to Al Horford and Aaron Gordon. Gordon has been linked to Portland so often, it wouldn’t be a surprise to me if black-and-red jerseys with “GORDON” on the back are already being sold in the Northwest.

But aside from Brown, how many of these players are on the incline of their careers? Better yet, how many of them can you guarantee synergy with, in the way that you see it with Lillard and McCollum?

The fact is, you don’t award a player with a five-year, $157 million deal — with an extension to boot — if you’re lacking in faith.

Perhaps the external pressure could begin to mount on McCollum, in terms of rounding out defense, passing, and ratcheting his efficiency to its 2016-17 form. Expect Lillard and McCollum to have their chance to run it back.