Last summer, the Portland Trail Blazers addressed their backcourt logjam by including Malcolm Brogdon in the package to acquire Deni Avdija from the Washington Wizards. But they now have another positional logjam in their frontcourt.
The Blazers have four quality centers on their roster: Donovan Clingan, Deandre Ayton, Robert Williams III (when healthy), and Duop Reath. Portland wrongly targeted Ayton when trading with the Phoneix Suns, but that mistake has largely been overlooked with Toumani Camara's breakout season.
They also should have traded Williams at the deadline when he was healthy and had a market, but overvalued the big man, who is now unfortunately dealing with yet another injury.
Portland's messy center rotation is just one example of GM Joe Cronin overvaluing veterans and keeping them around on the roster for too long at the expense of developing their young core.
Clingan played well as the Blazers' defensive anchor towards the end of the season when Ayton and Williams were out with injuries, proving that he deserves a more permanent increased role. However, the two issues with that are 1) Clingan's conditioning isn't at the level of effectively playing 30-plus minutes throughout 82 games, and 2) Ayton's massive $35.6 million salary next season could make it challenging to find a trade partner this summer.
Big men are dominating the playoffs
Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report recently mentioned the possibility of the Blazers not trading any of their four centers this summer. And although it's frustrating to see Clingan and other of Portland's young talents not prioritized in their rebuild, the playoffs prove this may not be a negative thing.
Looking at the Western Conference, the three-seeded Los Angeles Lakers are already in Cancun after being upset by the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was surprising because you assume LeBron James and Luka Doncic would figure things out, but Los Angeles had serious roster flaws that Minnesota exploited.
It's great for the Lakers' long-term outlook that they magically landed Luka, but they had no reliable big man after trading Anthony Davis and the Mark Williams fiasco. That issue was on full display in their Game 5 loss. Jaxson Hayes recorded a DNP - coach's decision, while Maxi Kleber, who hasn't played since January, was given five minutes, highlighting the Lakers' desperation. As a result, they made defensive-minded Rudy Gobert look like prime Shaquille O'Neal, recording 27 points and 24 rebounds.
The Lakers aren't the only victims of being undersized and outmuscled in the playoffs. The Houston Rockets pushed the Golden State Warriors to Game 7 primarily because of their size advantage. Credit to Ime Udoka for identifying this mismatch early on, as his dual-center lineup of Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams has been the difference-maker in the series.
Having a paint presence becomes even more essential in the playoffs when the physicality picks up. And double-big lineups (some may call them a traditional power forward) are coming back in style. Even the three best teams -- the OKC Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics -- all have some version of this with Isaiah Hartenstein/Chet Holmgren, Evan Mobley/Jarrett Allen, and Kristaps Porzingis/Al Horford.
The success of these teams has proven that not only did the Blazers nail the Clingan selection, but they are also positioning themselves for future postseason success with the identity Cronin has been emphasizing.
Maybe these perceived mistakes of targeting Ayton and holding onto Williams for too long are actually a luxury, after all.