Trail Blazers Earn Strong Praise From Insider For Roster Construction

The Portland Trail Blazers went on a real heater to close the 2024-25 season.

Playing suffocating defense with plenty of energy and effort, the team showed some real direction for the first time in years. Those in Rip City are bullish on the squad continuing to improve this year with a collection of very promising young players.

The question is...will the team take the next step in becoming a playoff contender in 2025-26?

Noteworthy NBA pundit Tim Bontemps of ESPN recently wrote a long feature in which he predicted the records of every NBA team this upcoming season. When it came to the Trail Blazers, Bontemps believes the team will finish with a 39-43 record.

Ultimately, the treacherous nature of the Western Conference is something that the baby Blazers may have a hard time overcoming.

"Portland finished with 36 wins last season after a strong push down the stretch that saw the Blazers rack up wins against teams resting for the playoffs or positioning themselves to maximize draft position," Bontemps wrote.

"Portland did turn Anfernee Simons into Jrue Holiday this summer, but it's unclear where the additional wins will come from. The Blazers are attempting to mesh veterans such as Holiday and Jerami Grant with a young core of Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Donovan Clingan," Bontemps added.

Trail Blazers Leaning on Defense, Too

"The Blazers are also banking that the defense that showed up throughout the second half of the season -- the Blazers tied for the fourth best in the NBA from Jan. 15 on -- is more real than the 25th-ranked defense from the first half of 2024-25."

Portland finished with a 36-46 record last year. This year according to Bontemps would demonstrate a slight improvement. In order to take the next step in becoming a play-in contender, Sharpe and Henderson would have to develop at a very high rate.

There's definitely a world in which this backcourt duo could emerge and breakout given they've been in the league for a few years at this point.

Clingan's expected jump from Year 1 to Year 2 may result in him averaging a double-double. Avdija and Camara both averaged double-digits last year. When adding a proven player of Holiday's ilk, there's a world where the Blazers may outperform these projections.

More Blazers News

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