NBA Power Rankings: Will any team dethrone the Celtics or Nuggets in NBA Playoffs?

26. Portland Trail Blazers

There is an argument to be made that the Portland Trail Blazers were actually building to this very moment over the last few seasons. After Damian Lillard declared his desire to be traded last summer, the Blazers quickly made the transition to a rebuilding team. Even though this season hasn't gone as smoothly as perhaps many believed it would for the Blazers, this is still a team that has a strong and talented young core.

Heading into the offseason, the Blazers should be able to continue to build around their young foundation. Whether or not this young foundation is good enough to build a playoff contender, and perhaps, down the road, a championship-caliber team remains to be seen. That said, this is a team that will be in a good position once again to continue to add talent to their already established roster.

The next few steps for the Blazers could prove to be interesting. While they still have a few veterans on their roster, which could be valuable on the trade block, I'm not so sure they're going to double down on their rebuilding stance. I imagine this is a team that may want to keep a couple of veterans on the roster in an attempt to compete for a playoff spot next season.