Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers are closer to contention than what others think. Their starting five is outstanding. They have an argument for having the best backcourt in the entire NBA and Jusuf Nurkic is an underrated big man who can not only score on the low block but can defend, rebound and pass the ball as well. The problem is the bench. There just isn’t enough firepower coming off of it.
Adding Jordan Clarkson could go a long ways in solving those problems.
Although Allen Crabbe is massively overpaid, he still ranked No. 2 in 3-point percentage and is a solid defender. Evan Turner can’t shoot but he’s a versatile player who contributes in all categories. They also just drafted two promising big men in Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan, and Shabazz Napier seems to be finally turning a corner in his career to becoming a valuable player.
Still, with all of that being said, the Blazers still need a player like Jordan Clarkson who can score when the bench players are having a hard time finding the bottom of the net. Clarkson will not have an issue scoring the basketball.
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Theoretically, you can deploy a lineup of Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum and Clarkson out there. That brings a whole new definition to the word small ball, they will undoubtedly have a hard time defending opposing players but the opposition will have a difficult time guarding them as well. Bringing Clarkson to Rip City would move this team up the Western Conference Standings.