The Portland Trail Blazers' top offseason priority should be to add more reliable shooting. Fortunately, they have the financial flexibility to address that glaring need via free agency.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade would give Portland much-needed frontcourt depth while spacing the floor for Deni Avdija and Co. more effectively. The Blazers have a ton of athleticism, with guards and wings who are at their best when they get downhill, but their offense stalls when defenses collapse, and they kick out to non-shooters.
The underlying issue lies with Portland's draft picks: Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson, Kris Murray, Donovan Clingan, and Yang Hansen are all average to below-average shooters. Portland's front office should've prioritized shooting more when initially constructing this roster and rebuilding via the draft.
Dean Wade is an underrated free agency option for Portland
Moves on the margins won't address the issue in its entirety, as evidenced by the trade deadline acquisition of sharpshooter Vit Krejci. But Wade is at least a step in the right direction towards finding a better roster balance going forward.
Portland has finally established a defensive identity, but that's also come at the cost of their shooting, as they shipped out Anfernee Simons last summer. Wade is a career 36.7 percent shooter from beyond the arc and an underrated defender, allowing Portland to address its weakness without compromising its strengths.
That's the ideal free agency pickup for Portland -- a role player who knows his limits, but also contributes in areas of need. The downside of that style of play is that Wade disappears for stretches, but Portland wouldn't have to rely on him to the extent Cleveland has this season, making it more of a luxury rather than a necessity.
Additionally, the shooting volume isn't quite there, but Wade is at least enough of a threat to space the floor effectively. It hurt my eyes at times to watch Tiago Splitter play multiple sub-30 percent three-point shooters on the court at once. Still, he essentially had no other choice due to injuries and Portland's overlapping skill sets coming off the bench.
Wade would give them another dimension, and at the very least, another shooting option. He shouldn't be considered the top free agency option for Portland. But for a team searching for better roster balance, Wade checks a lot of the boxes.
He's the kind of complementary player who fits seamlessly into any system, as he doesn't need the offense to revolve around him to make an impact. That skill set would be especially valuable in Portland, where shooting has hindered the rebuild for years.
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