29. Portland Trail Blazers
Looking at their roster, it’s easy to get caught up in believing that the Portland Trail Blazers could be better than expected. However, I’m not so sure that will end up being the case this season. Sure, there’s a chance that the Blazers will emerge as one of the more entertaining teams to watch this season but, for the most part, Portland will enter the season as one of the most young and inexperienced teams in the league. And that is a recipe for inconsistent play.
After trading Damian Lillard, the Blazers are officially turning over their team to Scoot Henderson and Deandre Ayton, who the Blazers brought in via the three-team deal for Lillard. Again, on paper, there’s a chance the Blazers could surprise some teams in the Western Conference. However, the West is too deep and too good to expect this team to even be in the Play-In conversation.
No matter what you think about the way this team handled the Lillard process, there’s no question that the team has a bright future. If each of their young players reaches their ceiling, the Blazers could be really good in a few years.