The Portland Trail Blazers are 3-8 to begin the 2023-24 season, so it’s fair to say they’ve had some early issues. Their only three wins came in consecutive games against the Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies, so they’ve also thrived, at least for a brief period.
On an individual level, Shaedon Sharpe’s game has improved dramatically since his rookie season. Skylar Mays has been a revelation recently. Jerami Grant has been playing some of the best offensive basketball of his career.
But Scoot Henderson struggled out of the gate and is now injured. Anfernee Simons played on opening night and won’t take the floor again until at least mid-December. Robert Williams III’s season is over after playing only a handful of games in a Blazers’ jersey. Malcolm Brogdon has both thrived and struggled after starting strong and then tweaking his hamstring.
Brogdon, Williams, Henderson and Mays are only in Portland because of the franchise’s wild offseason that saw acquisitions and departures play out in droves once the Damian Lillard trade finally dropped.
Lillard, Jusuf Nurkic, Josh Hart, Drew Eubanks and Cam Reddish, for example, all played significant minutes for the Blazers at one time or another last season and are now plying their basketball trades elsewhere.
How are those former Trail Blazers doing on their new squads? Are they thriving like Sharpe and Grant or struggling like Scoot?
Struggling former Blazer No. 1: Jusuf Nurkic, Phoenix Suns
Jusuf Nurkic was part of the three-team deal that sent Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks. The long-time Blazers’ center swapped places with Deandre Ayton and joined one of the few remaining NBA superteams in Phoenix alongside Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
The Suns’ hope was that Nurkic would be a better passer and connector than Ayton, that he would be a stronger deterrent at the rim and would demand fewer touches. So far, so average.
Nurk has stayed healthy through the Suns’ first 11 games and has played an average of 27.1 minutes – more than he did in Portland last season. He’s understandably getting fewer shot attempts, but instead of his efficiency rising like you would assume, it’s dropped dramatically.
The Bosnian Beast is only shooting 39.1 percent from the floor, and after showing an improved jumper from deep last year, is connecting on 26.7 percent of his 2.7 3-point attempts.
Nurkic is averaging 4.5 assists, but his 8.8 rebounds per night are his lowest since his time with the Denver Nuggets. Ditto for his scoring average of 9.5 points. His rim protection isn’t what Phoenix hoped it would be either at fewer than 1 block per game.
Nurk should get a decent shot at winning a championship this season, but individually, he’s having his worst year since before he became a Blazer during the 2016-17 campaign.
Thriving Blazer No. 1: Drew Eubanks, Phoenix Suns
It’s a different story in the Valley of the Sun for Portland’s reserve center from last season. Drew Eubanks was pressed into action as Nurkic struggled with injuries, and he performed admirably in a role that was assumed to be above his talent level.
However, he’s played more – and better – in Phoenix this year.
He’s serving the same role as Nurk’s backup, playing 18.8 minutes a night, but he’s attempting more shots (5.0) and scoring more points (7.8). He’s averaging 5.0 rpg, down slightly from last year, but he’s averaging a career high in assists (2.1) and blocks (1.4).
The Oregon State product is filling a familiar energetic role with the Suns, but he’s been more productive on a better team than he was in Portland last season.
Struggling former Blazer No. 2: Josh Hart, New York Knicks
Had the Trail Blazers chosen to contend last season, Josh Hart would have remained in Portland rather than being dealt to the New York Knicks at the trade deadline. As it was, the Blazers ended the year by tanking in epic fashion before earning Henderson with the No. 3 pick.
Hart played well for a Knicks team that made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals, but so far in ’23-24, neither he nor New York have played at the same level.
The Knicks are off to a 6-5 start and looking up at the top of the East from a play-in tournament spot after finishing 47-35 and earning the conference’s No. 5 seed last year. Hart is off to a similarly average start.
Despite playing 28.9 minutes per game, (he played 30 last season), he’s averaging career-lows in points, shooting percentage and 3-point shooting percentage. Known as a rebounder and defender, Hart’s 6.6 rpg is his lowest since his second year in the league, and he’s averaging less than 1 steal a night for only the third time in his career.
Thriving Blazer No. 2: Cam Reddish, Los Angeles Lakers
Thriving can be a matter of perspective, especially for a former top-10 pick who’s shown flashes of starter-level potential and is still young but has yet to put everything together.
Cam Reddish entered the league as the No. 10 pick in the 2019 draft. He was skilled and athletic and looked like he was built in a lab to fit the three-and-D archetype. Physically, he still is all those things – he just hasn’t been able to hit threes or play D at a high enough level to approach the expectations that were set for him.
He’s a career 32.4 percent shooter from three, including a 31.8 percent mark during his time in Portland. This season, he’s connecting on 35.1 of his shots from beyond the arc, and 2023-24 is only the second time he’s had a true shooting percentage over 51. His 1.6 steals per game is a career high as well.
Reddish has started half the games he’s played in LA and is seventh on the team in minutes. He’ll likely never become the player scouts thought he would be when he left Duke after one season, but, at least through 12 games this year, it looks like he’s finding a niche as a contributor on a contending team.
LeBron claps back at those saying he shouldn’t have passed to Cam Reddish in the clutchpic.twitter.com/cgbkPxo2ic
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) November 11, 2023
Struggling former Blazer No. 3: Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks
The NBA offseason’s biggest trade has yet to pay off for Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks. At least not yet.
Apart from a few games here and there, like Dame’s dramatic 39-point debut or Milwaukee’s most recent game when he dropped 37, it’s been a struggle for Lillard to integrate himself into the Bucks’ offense alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The ex-Blazer is averaging only 24.3 points on 38.6 percent shooting from the field and 28.6 percent from deep. Those numbers are all uncharacteristically poor for a player who was expected to arrive in Milwaukee and immediately upgrade the Bucks’ offense.
It’s been even more of a struggle defensively, which shouldn’t come as a major shock to Portland fans. Dame has long been one of the worst defenders in the NBA – it’s just been covered up by his explosive offense and lack of spotlight on a middling team.
Even with Giannis and last year’s Defensive Player of the Year runner-up Brook Lopez, Milwaukee is 24th in defensive rating and 26th in opponent fast-break points. Their 115.1 offensive rating isn’t good enough to offset their defensive rating, and the duo of Lillard and Antetokounmpo hasn’t brought a positive net rating to the Bucks so far this year.
Is there time for Dame to adjust to a new scheme and new players? Sure. He’s never played with anyone of Antetokounmpo’s caliber, so finding a balance between hunting his own shot and deferring to a former MVP is new. But Lillard’s time in Milwaukee has been disappointing so far, both individually and as a team.