3 lessons the Portland Trail Blazers can learn from the Milwaukee Bucks

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 01: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers looks to drive past Elfrid Payton #6 of the New York Knicks during the first half of their game at Madison Square Garden on January 01, 2020 in New York City. 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 Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

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Lesson #2 – you never know when your window will be

Sometimes, to win a championship, you need a bit of luck. And for the last five or six NBA champions, there have been injuries among competing teams.

LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Kyrie Irving this year.

Multiple injuries in the bubble last year.

Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant the year before.

Steph Curry in 2016.

Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving in 2015.

You never know when your team’s window will be. The Blazers always seem to be one piece away and have a strange obsession with building organically through the draft, rather than using their picks to bring in veterans who can help now. Last season was the first that they used picks to bring in a guy like Robert Covington.

But, they still had developing young talents in Zach Collins, CJ Elleby, Anfernee Simons and Nassir Little. These are exciting young players, but the Blazers aren’t ready for their potential window being right now, by sitting on these young guys.

As a franchise, you need to stay ready for your championship window. The Blazers haven’t done that.