Portland Trail Blazers: 2 Season-defining questions and 1 bold prediction

Exploring what could await the Portland Trail Blazers as they begin year 2 of the rebuild this season.

After trading Damian Lillard last summer, the Portland Trail Blazers are effectively heading into year 2 of their rebuild. Even though last season didn't go as originally planned for the team, there were some things that the Blazers could build off of. With a talented young roster, there are plenty of intriguing storylines to watch unfold as the Blazers prepare for the start of the 2024-25 NBA season.

In anticipation of the start of the season, we'll explore two season-defining questions and make one bold prediction for the Blazers.

Will any of their young stars pop this season?

One of the bigger questions that will end up driving this season for the Portland Trail Blazers revolves around which, if any, of their young players will take a big step in their development. You'd imagine that the Blazers need to see big strides from either Scoot Henderson or Shaedon Sharpe this season to be increasingly hopeful for the future of the team.

Especially after going all-in on the youth movement after trading Lillard last offseason, the Blazers have to begin to see some dividends after such a rash decision from the front office. A lot of this team's future will be determined by how much their young players improve this season.