The Portland Trail Blazers finished the 2023-24 NBA season with a 21-61 record, the worst in the Western Conference, and tied with the Charlotte Hornets for the third-worst record in the association. They had poor luck in the draft lottery, losing the tiebreaker coin flip to the Hornets and falling to the No. 7 pick (although it's hard to complain about the result after Donovan Clingan miraculously fell).
Only two teams finished with worse records than the Blazers—the Wizards and Pistons—giving them plenty of opportunity to leapfrog teams next season in the NBA. But that's not their intention heading into next season as they continue the early stages of their rebuild. It would be malpractice if they were rebuilding and had several teams they could potentially jump ahead of in next year's standings.
With the exception of the Utah Jazz, the Blazers zig while the other Western Conference teams zag and try to compete for a playoff spot, leaving the only two options to finish with worse records than them in the East.
1. Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets have had the biggest rollercoaster ride of the past five years compared to any team in the NBA. Just a few seasons ago, they had a superstar trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving, and they looked like one of the favorites in winning a championship. They now find themselves one of the favorites to finish with the worst record in the NBA next season.
The Nets received five first-round draft picks from the Knicks in exchange for Mikal Bridges and strategically recouped their own picks from the Rockets, allowing them to embrace a full-on rebuild just in time for the loaded 2025 NBA Draft.
2. Chicago Bulls
Another team that was long overdue for a rebuild was the Chicago Bulls. They were seemingly hovering around an eight-seed for too long and are finally committing to a roster overhaul, as evidenced by their recent trade with the OKC Thunder of Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey, especially after losing DeMar DeRozan to the Sacramento Kings in a sign-and-trade.
It remains to be seen what will happen with Zach LaVine, as it doesn't sound like there is significant trade interest around the league to take on his $43 million owed in 2024-25. Regardless, this Bulls team shouldn't be very competitive next season as they look to rebuild around Coby White, Giddey, and No. 11 pick Matas Buzelis.