The Portland Trail Blazers' offseason moves seem like a time machine experiment that short-circuited.
Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday are both back in Portland, and no one saw either move coming. That wasn't even their most shocking move of the summer, as the Blazers gambled on Yang Hansen with the No. 16 overall pick.
We like the overall direction this team is heading in. But what exactly is that direction, and what is the path of this roster? Because of those unanswered questions, the Blazers polled unfavorably in ESPN's offseason survey.
Portland's roster only got messier this summer
Twenty coaches, scouts, and executives were polled in this survey. Portland received one vote for having the worst offseason and three votes for the worst move of the summer (acquiring Holiday).
Brian Windhorst, Tim Bontemps, and Tim MacMahon recently reacted to the offseason survey on Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective. Bontemps hits the nail on the head as to why Portland's offseason was so puzzling.
"It plays into the general theme of around Portland for a couple of years now, which the Blazers do have some talent on their roster, and they had a nice close to the season last year... but it's like okay, you add Jrue Holiday to this team, but where does he fit? And why are you doing this? And why are you taking on all of this money to be again right up against the luxury tax when you have to start to look at paying these guys in the future, and you've still got Jerami Grant on the books for three years? It was just a lot of confusion about what they are trying to do," Bontemps said.
The rebuilding Blazers should prioritize development and roster clarity, using 2025-26 as a transitional season while they continue to evaluate what they have in Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe. That will only be more challenging with several veterans in the picture.
General manager Joe Cronin has consistently overvalued the Blazers' players. That's caused unnecessary roster headaches with veterans getting in the way of Portland's youth. Now, the Blazers are at this awkward point in their rebuild where the veterans have been around so long that Portland is actually trying to win again.
There's also a minimal talent gap, if any, between the veterans and the up-and-coming players. But now the Blazers can't even move the veterans if they tried. They had to buy out Deandre Ayton, can't ship Grant unless they attach future assets, and there's minimal value around the league for an injury-prone Robert Williams.
In other words, they had enough problems on their hands, but only added to that roster conundrum by bringing in an aging and overpaid Holiday.
This summer was a perfect opportunity for the Blazers to finally prioritize their youth. Things were even trending in that direction, as Anfernee Simons, Grant, Williams, and Ayton were all trade candidates entering the summer. But instead of fully embracing their youth movement, Portland has established two distinct timelines on its roster. And it makes you wonder what this entire rebuild was for.