What if KD was removed from OKC and added to the Blazers' rosters from 2009-2016 in place of Oden? Assume the rest of Portland's roster stays the same and all of their players have the same injuries they experienced historically. How would they have done?
Note: this of course is not necessarily a "what if KD was drafted by Portland" because the Blazers' roster might have been constructed significantly differently.
Add KD to Portland from 2009-2016
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Add KD to Portland from 2009-2016
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rand
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trelos6
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So Lillard, Matthews, KD, Batum, Aldridge.
Except they were giving RoLo 31 mpg. I don’t think they had the initiative to play small ball. So Matthews or Batum is coming off the bench as a 6th man.
KD was good, very good in 2014, but I don’t see them beating the Spurs.
It comes down to the supporting casts. Ibaka, Westbrook, Sefolosha vs Lillard, Aldridge, Batum, Matthews.
Except they were giving RoLo 31 mpg. I don’t think they had the initiative to play small ball. So Matthews or Batum is coming off the bench as a 6th man.
KD was good, very good in 2014, but I don’t see them beating the Spurs.
It comes down to the supporting casts. Ibaka, Westbrook, Sefolosha vs Lillard, Aldridge, Batum, Matthews.
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Red Robot
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Re: Add KD to Portland from 2009-2016
The Blazers had some success in this period but they only really had couple years with a solid, balanced roster. Durant would have helped them win a lot more but I think they would still have trouble winning a conference finals.
In '09 the Blazers had a good team and the best offensive rating in the league on the strength of Roy, the offensive boards, and Nate McMillan's underrated screen game. Durant would have replaced Outlaw and Batum:
Przybilla
Aldridge
Durant
Roy
Blake
Bench is decent but inexperienced. Durant was really young at this point too, albeit already starting to make a difference. They might win one or two series but they wouldn't get past the Lakers and probably not Denver ether. I think the addition of Durant here is less than the sum of its parts; because the offense was already great the improvement would have been modest.
'10 the Blazers' anticipated offseason disappoints with the addition of Andre Miller, plus they added an old Marcus Camby. Team has better depth and experience, but a worse record than '09. Durant would have hugely improved this team, but come the playoffs I don't think they get past the Lakers or maybe even the Spurs.
'11 Roy was really limited and the team was stagnating. Gerald Wallace is the big addition of this period and he wouldn't have fit great alongside Durant. This season's tough to call. On one hand, they weren't going far without a healthy Roy. On the other hand, their path was pretty clear. The two WCF teams were the Mavs, who Portland lost to in six games (would have been 5 without Roy going supernova one last time), and OKC, who would be a nonfactor in this timeline. So maybe there's a chance? In any case, I think they'd lose to the Heat on the off chance they made it that far.
'12 Roy is done, Aldridge misses substantial time. With Durant they would have been much better but this is not their season no matter what. Maybe a first-round loss.
'13 is Lillard debuts and although he's a star from day one he's still a rookie. This was a pretty bad team without a lot of depth. With Durant they would be much better but it's still a relatively weak rebuilding year. Durant gets them to the playoffs, maybe they win a series.
'14 Portland starts to get good. Robin Lopez joins. By this point the lineup was:
Lopez
Aldridge
Batum
Wes Matthews
Lillard
so Durant slots in well here. Portland once again has a great offense but is held back by a mediocre D. They lost to the eventual champion Spurs in the semis. With Durant they would face spurs in WCF and have a decent chance at a win and then a potential finals win vs the heat.
'15 Similar lineup; team was good and the defense is improving. They got the 4th seed, then had an embarrassing loss to grizzlies in first round, and Durant would have helped tremendously. They would beat the Grizzlies but lose vs the Warriors, probably in WCF.
'16 Lost a lot of talent. Lillard and an emerging McCollum still drag the team to a winning record and a first round win vs an injured LAC. With Durant this team would have scorching offense but not the talent or depth to get past the Warriors or Spurs in the West.
So the team would have been hugely improved and would have been deep in the playoffs each season. But there's still a good chance they never win the West.
In '09 the Blazers had a good team and the best offensive rating in the league on the strength of Roy, the offensive boards, and Nate McMillan's underrated screen game. Durant would have replaced Outlaw and Batum:
Przybilla
Aldridge
Durant
Roy
Blake
Bench is decent but inexperienced. Durant was really young at this point too, albeit already starting to make a difference. They might win one or two series but they wouldn't get past the Lakers and probably not Denver ether. I think the addition of Durant here is less than the sum of its parts; because the offense was already great the improvement would have been modest.
'10 the Blazers' anticipated offseason disappoints with the addition of Andre Miller, plus they added an old Marcus Camby. Team has better depth and experience, but a worse record than '09. Durant would have hugely improved this team, but come the playoffs I don't think they get past the Lakers or maybe even the Spurs.
'11 Roy was really limited and the team was stagnating. Gerald Wallace is the big addition of this period and he wouldn't have fit great alongside Durant. This season's tough to call. On one hand, they weren't going far without a healthy Roy. On the other hand, their path was pretty clear. The two WCF teams were the Mavs, who Portland lost to in six games (would have been 5 without Roy going supernova one last time), and OKC, who would be a nonfactor in this timeline. So maybe there's a chance? In any case, I think they'd lose to the Heat on the off chance they made it that far.
'12 Roy is done, Aldridge misses substantial time. With Durant they would have been much better but this is not their season no matter what. Maybe a first-round loss.
'13 is Lillard debuts and although he's a star from day one he's still a rookie. This was a pretty bad team without a lot of depth. With Durant they would be much better but it's still a relatively weak rebuilding year. Durant gets them to the playoffs, maybe they win a series.
'14 Portland starts to get good. Robin Lopez joins. By this point the lineup was:
Lopez
Aldridge
Batum
Wes Matthews
Lillard
so Durant slots in well here. Portland once again has a great offense but is held back by a mediocre D. They lost to the eventual champion Spurs in the semis. With Durant they would face spurs in WCF and have a decent chance at a win and then a potential finals win vs the heat.
'15 Similar lineup; team was good and the defense is improving. They got the 4th seed, then had an embarrassing loss to grizzlies in first round, and Durant would have helped tremendously. They would beat the Grizzlies but lose vs the Warriors, probably in WCF.
'16 Lost a lot of talent. Lillard and an emerging McCollum still drag the team to a winning record and a first round win vs an injured LAC. With Durant this team would have scorching offense but not the talent or depth to get past the Warriors or Spurs in the West.
So the team would have been hugely improved and would have been deep in the playoffs each season. But there's still a good chance they never win the West.