Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers have rightfully gone all in on Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Keeping both players locked up on max deals until 2021, that’s the good news. The bad news, the rest of the cap is mostly spent on the trio of Evan Turner, Maurice Harkless and Myers Leonard. A supporting cast that isn’t exactly striking fear into the hearts of any opponents.
With only the MLE, the Blazers may have a hard time finding quality talent to surround their dynamic backcourt without striking a deal for future assets. Using their first-round pick on Anfernee Simons may have been a stretch, but he was a top 10 talent coming out of high school, it may pay off down the road.
The Blazers second round pick may be more ready to contribute right away, former Blue Devil Gary Trent Jr. may already be a better shooter, and possibly a better fit in the starting line up, than Evan Turner or Mo Harkless. This roster could look very similar to last years, with the exception of the rookies. Portland had better hope they play like the Trailblazers who won 13 in a row and not the Trail Blazers who went 5-7 down the stretch including bad losses to bottom dwellers Memphis and Dallas.
Verdict: Rewind