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Portland Trail Blazers: 5 biggest questions heading into the off-season

By Stevie Cozens

May 10, 2021; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (27) scores a basket during the second half against Houston Rockets forward Anthony Lamb (33) at Moda Center. The Trail Blazers won the game 140-129. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
May 10, 2021; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (27) scores a basket during the second half against Houston Rockets forward Anthony Lamb (33) at Moda Center. The Trail Blazers won the game 140-129. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports /
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(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

Portland Trail Blazers off-season question #2. Who will the new coach be?

The relieving of Coach Terry Stotts of his duties, and then the run-through of new candidates, prompted Blazers Twitter to explode.

Firstly when potential coaching candidates Chauncey Billups and Jason Kidd were announced, there was a huge uproar around their previous off-court indiscretions, especially for Kidd.

Kidd seemed to be Lillard’s choice for coach after publicly releasing the information through Yahoo Sports Insider Chris Haynes. Kidd then removed himself from the coaching search, to the relief of fans.

This still left a slew of candidates to analyze.

Mike D’Antoni, Juwan Howard, Jeff Van Gundy are the other candidates that have been mentioned so far. D’Antoni revolutionized NBA offense’s in the 2000s with the seven seconds or less Phoenix Suns and legendary point guard Steve Nash.

Juwan Howard is a former NBA player and coach at Michigan, while having also sat on NBA benches since his NBA retirement in 2012.

Jeff Van Gundy coached the New York Knicks in the 2000s and has done great things with programs like Team USA as well.

All four candidates have track records in various capacities, but it depends on what GM Neil Olshey wants. D’Antoni is the most experienced, but he has never had plus NBA defenses.

It will be interesting to see which direction is more important for the franchise.

(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) /

Portland Trail Blazers off-season question #3. What will Norman Powell’s new contract look like?

This one is a biggie. After moving on from Rodney Hood and Gary Trent Jr at the trade deadline, Norman Powell is now officially the Blazers number two wing.

Playing most of his minutes at small forward, Powell acquitted himself well in both the regular and playoffs. With his ability to attack off the bounce and finish at the rim at high rates, he gives the Blazer attack something Lillard and McCollum don’t bring.

Powell has an $11 million option for next year, but he will most certainly opt-out to re-sign a new deal. I’m pretty certain this will be with the Blazers too.

I think his market is a four-year deal around the 60 – 80 million mark. Though at the top end, this may seem a bit expensive, this is the going rate for a scorer of Powell’s caliber who can force turnovers and defend at a decent level too.

Powell is just 28, and he is a nice fit next to Lillard in the event of a McCollum trade. Because of his huge six-foot-ten wingspan, and ability to guard opposition wings, he can pick up the better threats and leave Dame to rest a little more on defense.

I expect the Blazers to agree to around $72 million over four years, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Powell and his agent already had a number in mind when they made a trade.