Blazers Nowhere Near Contending, Says Insider

Despite a flurry of major offseason moves, the Portland Trail Blazers haven't moved much closer to playoff glory, an NBA expert argues.

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Among the league's 14 non-playoff teams, Tim Bontemps of ESPN believes the Trail Blazers still have a ways to go before they can reach semi-contention status. Bontemps ranks Portland's current roster and assets as just the 10th-best from this group.

Still, the Trail Blazers have nine players younger than 25, both three tradeable first-round picks, and have four players signed to affordable rookie-scale deals.

"For a few years now, the Blazers have felt like a team trying to execute multiple strategies at once under general manager Joe Cronin," Bontemps writes. "The team has drafted a series of young players high in the lottery -- Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe and Donovan Clingan -- and yet has had all of them repeatedly blocked by older veterans for playing time. This offseason, Portland traded for Jrue Holiday -- now in his mid-30s -- and for the second straight year, used a first-round pick on a center, Yang Hansen, an intriguing player who will need time to grow his game."

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"This is also a roster brushing up against the luxury tax," Bontemps reveals. "And, while it plans on building on last season's strong second half -- Portland was over .500 and had one of the league's better defenses -- time will tell if that was solid play against a soft schedule or signs of true growth."

"Portland welcomed back franchise icon Damian Lillard on Thursday, signing him to a three-year, $42 million contract. His return gives the Blazers a leadership presence that their next generation is developing," Bontemps adds. "Sharpe and Henderson are intriguing talents who require more consistency to take that sort of leap. Clingan can be a menace defensively but selecting Hansen this year leads to questions about his future, too. Toumani Camara and Deni Avdija, who have been quite good on below-market deals, could earn big deals in the coming seasons, removing some of their surplus value."

"Portland is clearly operating like a team that believes it can get into the top 10 in the Western Conference this season, as evidenced by the Holiday deal," Bontemps notes. "The path to chasing a top-four seed, however, is years away."

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For more news and notes on the Portland Trail Blazers, visit Portland Trail Blazers on SI.