Your 15-42 Portland Trail Blazers will be missing one of their most critical veteran backcourt pieces for a little while longer, even as their 2023-24 season winds to a close.
Combo guard Malcolm Brogdon, who gets injured with alarming frequency, has at least been able to treat his latest ailment, but that's about all the good news we have on the vet's status.
Per Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report, Portland head coach Chauncey Billups revealed that platelet rich plasma injections in the ailing elbow of the reigning Sixth Man of the Year (an award he will absolutely not be claiming again this year) have helped him at least feel better this season, although that doesn't mean he is necessarily any closer to actually make a comeback on the hardwood.
Ultimately, because Portland is jockeying for maximal NBA draft lottery balls anyway, the absence of a solid, stabilizing presence on the club's roster will most likely "help" the team "achieve" its goal of being as terrible as possible for these final 26 contests.
That said, it will make the team even more painful to watch than it was with Brogdon, who like another colleague, veteran center Robert Williams III, arrived to town via a convoluted deal with the Boston Celtics during the offseason.
During its most recent game on Sunday night, Portland fell 93-80 to a 15-42 Charlotte Hornets team that is actively tanking, having traded away two of its priciest veterans in point guard Terry Rozier and forward Gordon Hayward at the deadline this year.
More must-reads: