Portland Trail Blazers
Burning question: Is it time to fully lean into the rebuild?
The way the Portland Trail Blazers have operated over the last 6-8 months has been curious, to say the least. When they decided to move forward with trading Damian Lillard, they made it clear they were leaning into a rebuild. However, their refusal to trade Jerami Grant and Malcolm Brogdon has been odd. It's almost as if the Blazers believe they can make the quick transition to win-now mode after signaling a rebuild. And their performance this season has told the opposite story. For as much talent as the Blazers have on their roster, this is not a team that is going to be able to compete in the Western Conference for a while.
Heading into the offseason, these are the same questions that the Blazers will have to continue to answer. And if they continue to refuse or hold off on trading Grant and/or Brogdon, aren't they delaying the rebuild?
I have a feeling the Blazers could end up delaying their return to relevance by not embracing the full rebuild this offseason. And that's the last thing they need to do.