Plotting the dream offseason for the Portland Trail Blazers
By Will Eudy
Retain the veterans
One thing that has been true for all of NBA history and will continue to echo as an undeniable fact is that teams cannot win a championship without proper veteran leadership. To clarify, the word 'proper' is important here. Deandre Ayton may be a six-year vet, but he is not the kind of player you want as one of the top guiding influences in your locker room.
Loading up a roster with a healthy balance of talent is important, and appropriate leadership from veterans will always matter. No matter how talented a team's young players are, they will eventually fail without the proper guidance and know-how of guys who have been in those situations many times before.
As such, it will be vital for the Trail Blazers to retain the likes of Jerami Grant, Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams. All three of those players have unquestioned integrity in the locker room, and each will be vital to helping Portland make a legitimate playoff push next year.
The shot-creating ability of Grant, the ball handling and floor vision of Brogdon, and the dominant post play of Williams will all be big factors on the court next season. But their strong leadership qualities are arguably their biggest assets to this team.