Jody Allen might be making it impossible for the Portland Trail Blazers to turn this season around
The Blazers have a championship-level first option in superstar Damian Lillard. They have a deeper bench than they’ve had in years, including two youngsters on-the-rise in Nassir Little and Anfernee Simons. They’ve got high quality role players like Norman Powell, Robert Covington, and Larry Nance Jr., all of who could have more to give if asked.
The problem is the core. General Manager Neil Olshey has tried to convince fans for years that a foundation of Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Jusuf Nurkic is enough to win a title with the right coach and complementary pieces around them.
Olshey has been retooling around this core for years and yet, the Blazers are no closer to a championship-caliber roster. He fired longtime coach Terry Stotts this offseason and replaced him with handpicked candidate Chauncey Billups, but there haven’t been significant improvements.
It’s past time to admit that this core just isn’t enough to compete with the top-tier contenders in the league.
It’s not necessarily that McCollum and Nurkic can’t be second and third options on a title team — just not one that’s led by Dame.
If Portland still hopes to compete for the Larry O’Brien this season, they need to act soon. Unfortunately, the team doesn’t even know who will be pulling the trigger on these deals, let alone if they’re going to be making any.
Neil Olshey is currently armpit deep in allegations that he’s created a hostile work environment for Trail Blazers staffers.
Many have asked why Jody Allen wouldn’t just give him the boot. It can really only come down to two things:
- Jody Allen believes that Neil Olshey is a good general manager and this investigation is truly just about how he treats his subordinates, rather than his work performance.
- Allen wants to find plausible cause to fire Olshey, preventing her from having to pay out the remainder of his contract.
It was first announced that Olshey was under investigation on November 6th. Now, over 20 days later, the firm and the team seem no closer to a decision than they were then.
Of course, it’s important to give voices to a voiceless majority, and who would really be surprised that Olshey is a tyrant behind the scenes? If the allegations are true, then Olshey doesn’t deserve another dime.
The longer this is stretched out, though, the harder it will be for Olshey’s replacement to find a way to right the ship. And if the investigation is inconclusive? We’re back to square one.