Trail Blazers lag behind in key aspect of NBA roster construction

After picking up Dalano Banton's $2.2 million team option, the Portland Trail Blazers have all 15 roster spots accounted for entering the 2024-25 season. Jared Dubin of Last Night, In Basketball (subscription required) had an interesting article breaking down how all 30 NBA teams constructed their current rosters. Specifically, what number of players on each team's roster were acquired via trade, draft, or free agency? The Trail Blazers almost immediately stood out as a team with an unconventional chart.

Blazers have one player acquired via free agency on their roster

Of their 15 players, Portland has seven that they drafted, seven they received through trades, and only one acquired via free agency. Here's the breakdown of their roster:

Drafted:

• Donovan Clingan

• Scoot Henderson

• Rayan Rupert

• Shaedon Sharpe

• Jabari Walker

• Kris Murray

• Anfernee Simons

Traded for:

• Deni Avdija

• Dalano Banton

• Toumani Camara

• Deandre Ayton

• Robert Williams III

• Jerami Grant

• Matisse Thybulle

Free agency signing:

• Duop Reath

The Denver Nuggets are the only other team on the chart with only one free-agent signing. It's certainly not bad company for the Blazers to have - after all, the Nuggets are a recent NBA champion. But the Blazers also don't have arguably the best player on the planet in Nikola Jokic. It remains to be seen if they even have an All-Star-level player on their roster; this leaves many to wonder what's next for the Blazers in their rebuilding process and how they can ultimately find their franchise player.

What's next for the Blazers' roster?

It makes sense for them to prioritize the draft for their roster construction as a rebuilding team. ESPN's Zach Lowe (subscription required) recently mentioned that the Blazers will continue to be 'bad by design' for the 2024-25 season, shifting their focus towards the 2025 NBA Draft and top prospect Cooper Flagg. Hopefully, they land a star, whether through an internal breakout from someone like Scoot Henderson or Shaedon Sharpe or next year's draft.

However, once they finally have a bona fide star, it will be essential for the Blazers and general manager Joe Cronin to prioritize free agency more. Portland needs to prepare for the next eventual step in the rebuilding process, which is surrounding their up-and-coming core with established free-agency talent to take them to the next level when the time is right. They need more financial flexibility to do so, which means they should strongly consider dumping contracts that don't currently fit their rebuilding timeline, specifically 30-year-old Jerami Grant, who is still owed over $100 million.