The NBA is a copycat league, meaning the Portland Trail Blazers can learn a thing or two from the New York Knicks' somewhat unexpected title success. It's good timing too, considering Portland now has an important backcourt logjam to navigate following Damian Lillard's return and the buy-low flyer on Ja Morant.
Blazers' first-year head coach Micah Nori needs to consider the success New York had in building around an undersized offensive guard (and recent Saturday Night Live star) in Jalen Brunson.
Blazers can learn from how Knicks built around Jalen Brunson
It may be difficult to replicate the formula entirely. Brunson solidified his status as a top-ten player in the league when he defied expectations and proved teams can successfully build a contender around a 6-foot-2 guard as their best player.
That recent and surprising trend actually bodes well for Portland in terms of the direction general manager Joe Cronin has taken the roster this summer.
There were similar concerns during Lillard's first stint with the Blazers. While they had relative regular-season success thanks to their franchise icon, that unfortunately didn't quite translate to the postseason. The offense-minded guard duo of Lillard and CJ McCollum wasn't built for postseason success in general, but the issue was compounded by the fact that Portland continually failed to surround them with complementary pieces.
Blazers finally have complementary pieces for Damian Lillard
The Blazers finally appeared to learn from that lesson. Thanks to the Lillard trade in the first place to the Milwaukee Bucks, they were finally able to surround him with those two-way wings and rim protectors he was missing in that first stint.
The Blazers have Jrue Holiday, Toumani Camara, Deni Avdija, Donovan Clingan, and Robert Williams III. That's multiple players either with an All-Defense selection or bound for one, with Avdija thrown in there as someone who should be more focused on the defensive end this season with the amount of offensive playmakers Portland now has.
The Knicks ring was an encouraging sign for that formula and defensive identity the Blazers established under GM Joe Cronin. The Knicks were able to cover for Brunson's defensive limitations between the versatile wing trio of (former Blazer) Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges.
Fortunately, the Blazers are now capable of implementing a similar formula, surrounding Lillard with Holiday, Camara, and Avdija. They even have the added luxury of a Clingan-Williams center rotation, which arguably remains one of the best defensive anchor duos in the league after the strategic extension to Time Lord.
Portland can't let Ja Morant trade get in the way
The Knicks title should have the Blazers excited about this upcoming season, as it signals they're in the right direction after years of patiently rebuilding this roster. The Morant trade may have set them back in the process on the road to contention, but only if Nori and the Blazers allow it to happen.
They already had a great thing going between the playoff appearance last season and adding a healthy Lillard into the mix. Perhaps Morant returns to All-Star form and raises that ceiling, turning this into another bold trade by Cronin that works out in the Blazers' favor.
But at the same time, the Knicks' title run showed the Blazers are on the right track in terms of a roster-building formula -- one that appears to make less sense with Morant now in the picture. It's a delicate line for Nori to balance, but at least he's not afraid to consider all his options as a first-year head coach managing all these star egos in Year 1.
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