The Portland Trail Blazers have had their share of ups and downs over the last decade. While they’ve enjoyed some memorable moments that exhilarated fans, there are certainly decisions they’d like to have back. Here are eight do-overs the Blazers wish they could have, ranging from trades, free agents and draft picks to playoff series losses they almost won.
2007: Drafting Greg Oden over Kevin Durant
Portland had the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft and faced a difficult choice between center Greg Oden and forward Kevin Durant. They ultimately decided to pick Oden, thinking his defense and inside presence would pair nicely with a young Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge.
Unfortunately, Oden ended up an injury-plagued bust, while Durant blossomed into an MVP and one of the greatest scorers the game has ever seen.
With 20-20 hindsight, the Blazers would draft Durant instead of Oden. Though Oden was the consensus top prospect going into the draft, there were warning signs with his previous injury history that the Blazers likely overlooked.
Durant, meanwhile, had a flawless college career at Texas and elite scoring skills that translated to the NBA level.
With Roy and Aldridge already in place, plugging Durant into that group could have given Portland one of the league’s most formidable young cores. The skilled and dynamic Durant would have perfectly complemented Roy and Aldridge, taking pressure off them on offense. His defense and rebounding also improved significantly over his early years.
Drafting Durant in 2007 could have changed Portland’s fortunes over the last decade and prevented the subsequent rebuild they had to undertake. Teamed with Roy and Aldridge in their primes, the Blazers likely would have become a consistent playoff threat and contender in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
They could have even brought a championship to Portland for the first time since 1977.
Unfortunately, injuries severely hampered Roy’s and Oden’s careers, while Durant went on to have a Hall of Fame career.
This is one of the biggest “what-ifs” in Blazers history.
2012: Trading for Raymond Felton
In the 2012 offseason, the Blazers orchestrated a draft-day trade to acquire veteran point guard Raymond Felton from the New York Knicks. Portland sent playmaking point guard Andre Miller to Denver as part of the three-team deal. At the time, the move was intended to upgrade the Blazers at point guard on both ends of the court.
Unfortunately, Felton struggled mightily during his lone season in Portland, averaging a career-low 9.1 points and 5.5 assists on 40 percent shooting. He clashed repeatedly with head coach Nate McMillan and quickly fell out of favor with coaches and fans.
Felton’s poor conditioning, lazy defense and erratic shooting were a terrible fit for the Blazers.
Meanwhile, Miller excelled in Denver, averaging nearly 10 points and 7 assists per game while providing consistent play. As the offense regressed, his high basketball IQ and skillful passing were missed in Portland.
The 37-year-old Miller had three more productive seasons after the trade, while Felton flamed out.
Acquiring Felton was a backcourt downgrade for Portland that they likely regret today. On the bright side, his disappointing lone season set the stage for the Blazers to draft Damian Lillard in 2012. While that move paid huge dividends, the Felton trade could be considered one of the Blazers’ poorest of the last decade.
If they could do it again, the Blazers would be wise to keep the reliable, respected Miller over gambling on Felton.
2015: Letting Wesley Matthews walk in free agency
Wesley Matthews played a vital role as a starting shooting guard on some strong Blazers teams from 2010 to 2015. His two-way play, 3-point shooting and fiery leadership made him a fan and teammate favorite.
Yet, when his contract expired in the summer of 2015, Portland declined to match the maximum offer the Dallas Mavericks gave him in free agency.
Letting a player the caliber of Matthews walk for nothing proved to be a blow to the Blazers, leaving a hole at shooting guard that they struggled to fill in subsequent seasons.
Matthews provided elite floor spacing with his 3-point shot, knocking down nearly 40 percent for his Blazers career. He was their best perimeter defender, routinely being assigned to guard the opponent’s top wings.
Though Portland understandably wanted to avoid committing massive money long-term to Matthews when he was coming off a torn Achilles, they sorely missed his contributions after his departure. The Blazers cycled through a revolving door of journeymen shooting guards over the next few seasons, getting inconsistent production from those spots until CJ McCollum shifted to the two.
In a do-over scenario, Portland would likely try to retain Matthews on a shorter, team-friendly extension, perhaps two to three years in the $10 to $12 million range annually.
Although his career declined quickly after leaving Portland due to ongoing injury issues, keeping Matthews those extra couple of productive seasons could have made a big difference for some good Blazers teams that never got over the hump.
2016: Signing Evan Turner to a 4-year, $70 million deal
In the summer of 2016, the Blazers signed swingman Evan Turner to a massive 4-year, $70 million contract in hopes he could round out their starting lineup. Turner was coming off a decent season in Boston in which he averaged 10 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
The lengthy, expensive contract Portland gave him proved to be an albatross that hampered the team’s flexibility. Turner never came close to living up to his paycheck during his time with the Blazers.
In two and a half seasons in Portland, Turner averaged less than 9 points per game on a poor 41 percent shooting overall and 26 percent from three. His lack of an outside shot allowed defenses to clog the lane. Turner struggled defensively against athletic wings.
By the 2019-20 season, Turner fell entirely out of the rotation under coach Terry Stotts. He was traded to Atlanta that year, along with a first-round pick to dump his salary. The Blazers got almost nothing from their massive investment in Turner besides an ill-fitting, overpaid bench player.
The Blazers regret tying up so much cap space in Turner for multiple seasons. Those resources could have been better spent retaining Matthews or Al-Farouq Aminu to fill that role.
If Portland could redo free agency in 2016, they would likely pass on the risky Turner contract and seek cheaper wings who are better spacers and defenders. Going all-in on Turner and giving the disappointing Festus Ezeli a two-year, $14.7 million dollar deal in 2016 was an expensive gamble that failed severely and put the Blazers in a financial bind for years.
2018: Getting swept by the Pelicans in the playoffs
After ending the 2017-18 regular season on a tear to finish with the third seed in the West, the Blazers seemed poised to make noise in the playoffs. But the sixth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans, led by Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday, shockingly swept them.
The stunning sweep exposed some flaws with the Blazers, including overreliance on Lillard and McCollum. When the Pelicans successfully blitzed and trapped Lillard and McCollum, Portland’s role players failed to step up and make plays. The Blazers’ need for adjustments from game to game also highlighted shortcomings in Stotts’ strategic flexibility.
If they could get a do-over, the Blazers would make changes to better counter the Pelicans’ aggressive defensive scheme. More screens and cuts to get Lillard and McCollum open off the ball would have helped. Emphasizing more ball and player movement to generate open threes could have kickstarted the offense.
The Blazers also needed more physicality and effort on defense after being bullied by New Orleans on the glass and in transition. A more substantial commitment to defensive rebounding and getting back could have slowed the Pelicans’ domination in the paint.
If afforded a re-do, Portland would shuffle their rotation to give more minutes to players like Zach Collins, Ed Davis and Shabazz Napier, who provided energy.
After such a solid regular season, getting so handily dispatched out of the playoffs by a lower seed was hugely disappointing for Portland. It was an eye-opening series that exposed areas for improvement. If given the chance, the Blazers would prepare better and make earlier adjustments to avoid the ugly sweep.
2019: Trading for Hassan Whiteside
In the 2019 offseason, the Blazers moved to acquire center Hassan Whiteside from the Miami Heat via trade. Whiteside had tantalizing talent, leading the league in blocks and rebounds a few seasons prior, but he had worn out his welcome in Miami with bad attitudes and habits.
Still, Portland hoped pairing him with Lillard would get his career back on track.
That proved to be wishful thinking, as Whiteside put up empty stats during his lone season in Portland while providing little else. Despite averaging 16 points and 14 rebounds per game, Whiteside wasn’t a great fit and was a negative presence for the Blazers. He provided inadequate rim protection and little passing or playmaking out of the post.
Off the court, Whiteside sulked over his playing time, took veiled shots at coaches and teammates, and set a terrible example for young players. He was traded after one year to Sacramento, leaving the Blazers in need of a quality center again.
In hindsight, trading for Whiteside was a poor move reeking of desperation to put talent alongside Lillard. Paying him $27 million to put up meaningless numbers on a bad team was a waste. The Blazers would be better off in a do-over, keeping the draft capital it cost to get him or waiting to sign a traditional center in free agency.
Acquiring Whiteside is a recent example of Portland’s failed attempts to quickly plug holes when patience and player development would have been wiser.
2019: Mismanagement Against the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals
After finally getting over the hump in the second round, the 2019 Blazers faced a vulnerable Warriors team in the Western Conference Finals. Durant and DeMarcus Cousins injuries crippled Golden State, and it lost Klay Thompson during the series.
The door was open for Portland to beat the depleted defending champs and get their first finals berth since 1992.
Instead, the Blazers let the series slip away disappointingly, falling 4-0 while leading every game in the second half. Injuries to its rotation certainly contributed, as Portland lost Rodney Hood and Zach Collins during the series. Injuries aside, failure to execute in crunch time sealed their fate.
Poor shot selection, untimely turnovers and bad late-game execution doomed the Blazers against Golden State’s vaunted championship experience. Veterans like Lillard, McCollum and Al-Farouq Aminu came up small when it mattered most. Stotts also failed to make the necessary adjustments to counter Golden State’s surgically precise offense.
Beating a vulnerable Warriors team minus Durant and Cousins was likely the Blazers’ best shot at reaching the finals during the Lillard era. If afforded a do-over, Portland would be more aggressive in attacking Golden State’s weakened defense while limiting careless mistakes. Utilizing zone defenses or double teams could have also flustered the depleted Warriors.
2020: Losing Game 7 to Denver in the Playoffs
Coming off a disappointing finish to the 2019 season, the Blazers battled back from a 3-1 deficit versus Denver in the 2020 playoffs to force a Game 7 at home at Moda Center. Holding a halftime lead, Portland collapsed in the second half, falling to the Nuggets to end its season.
The embarrassing Game 7 loss raised serious questions about the Blazers’ mental toughness and ability to close. Despite being the higher seed and holding home-court advantage, they wilted under pressure.
Stars Lillard and McCollum combined to shoot just 13-of-41 in the deciding game. Meanwhile, Denver played with poise and confidence down the stretch behind the brilliance of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
The disappointing Game 7 defeat highlighted areas the Blazers needed to improve, including late-game execution, defensive consistency and mental resolve. If provided a do-over, Portland would utilize better rotations and play-calling to close the series on their home court.