Portland gonna be the Pistons next season?

[Tracymcgoaty]

Gonna give Portland some love man. Im watching them more and more lately and they're a damn fun team to watch. Feels like all they are lacking is a legit tier 1 type player to make them legit.

Although i will say Deni is playing some great basketball lately. Feels like he's finally arrived as a player with the blazers.

So where do we have them next season? Feels like West is once again trending towards a damn bloodbath and i feel Blazers will easily be in the mix of it.

OKC
Denver
Lakers
Clippers
Grizz
Houston
GSW
Spurs
Trailblazers
Wolves
Kings

Dude all of these teams are dangerous. Im not saying all of these teams are contenders but barring injuries none of these teams are an easy out.

[MrSparkle]

Gonna give Portland some love man. Im watching them more and more lately and they're a damn fun team to watch. Feels like all they are lacking is a legit tier 1 type player to make them legit.

Although i will say Deni is playing some great basketball lately. Feels like he's finally arrived as a player with the blazers.

So where do we have them next season? Feels like West is once again trending towards a damn bloodbath and i feel Blazers will easily be in the mix of it.

OKC
Denver
Lakers
Clippers
Grizz
Houston
GSW
Spurs
Trailblazers
Wolves
Kings

Dude all of these teams are dangerous. Im not saying all of these teams are contenders but barring injuries none of these teams are an easy out.

Well, and if NOP or Utah win Flagg or Harper, I also see them getting on track sooner than later. Feel like both intentionally poured gasoline on their tanks and drove them off a cliff this season. Both have all-star PFs and rather decent depth charts (and trade assets).

It’s a stacked conference, that’s for sure. There are always 2-4 super losers due to injuries and coveted prospects. They’ll emerge after the draft, summer trades and October injury report. I sense major shake ups.

[Yoshun]

They're missing a Cade.

[7seventynine9]

Who's their star player? They'd be more like a poor man's Houston, winning with depth.

[-Spyda-]

Deni great player

[elchengue20]

Pistons sucked last season, not a good comp IMO.

Deni looks like has arrived as a Star player. Camara is an elite defender. Ayton/Clingan is a good center rotation. Simmons is a good scorer.

If Henderson and/or Sharpe make another leap they are going to be dangerous next season.

[JustBuzzin]

They're missing a Cade.

Does Flagg or Harper qualify?

[JRoy]

Deni great player

Deni is a solid player. Wouldn’t call him a great player but he has had a great run.

[facothomas22]

Unless one of Deni Avdija maintain his current star level production, Sheadon Sharpe develops enough became a true star, or they get Cooper Flagg, I don't view that outcome as very likely. Maybe they will end being a poor man's version of the the Houston Rockets, but with far worse coaching.That feels a 8-10 seed team in the West and getting eliminated in the play-in. I do like them as a potential Luka Doncic, Trae Young, or Jaren Jackson Jr Free Agent destination in 2026 to push towards them towards true contention if they become good enough team to make the play -in, while being several of games over .500.

[JXL]

Gonna give Portland some love man. Im watching them more and more lately and they're a damn fun team to watch. Feels like all they are lacking is a legit tier 1 type player to make them legit.

Although i will say Deni is playing some great basketball lately. Feels like he's finally arrived as a player with the blazers.

So where do we have them next season? Feels like West is once again trending towards a damn bloodbath and i feel Blazers will easily be in the mix of it.

OKC
Denver
Lakers
Clippers
Grizz
Houston
GSW
Spurs
Trailblazers
Wolves
Kings

Dude all of these teams are dangerous. Im not saying all of these teams are contenders but barring injuries none of these teams are an easy out.

If they win the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes, hell yeah. Even if they get Ace Bailey or VJ Edgecombe, they're still in a really good spot.

I think they're right there, but ship Jerami Grant for a better wing, ship DeAndre Ayton for a stretch two-way big and picks. Anfernee Simons and Sheadon Sharpe are good.

[Yoshun]

They're missing a Cade.

Does Flagg or Harper qualify?

Probably, if they get one of them.

[Thaddy]

Scoot, Sharpe, Ayton, Deni, and Simons is a good group. They are on the verge of breaking out a play in W and getting playoff experience would do a lot for them. They are going to be better next year.

The treadmill team thing is a problem but considering how young they are they shouldn't be stuck in no man's land. The concern is their ceiling. I could see Sharpe being a no.1 option if he develops further. They can also get lucky and get into the top 4 of the draft this year.

[Dzon Dilindzer]

there are players with star potential in every draft and its not only top 3 picks, but you have to nail that later pick

well see if the trail blazers can nail that pick in the next draft, but also lets see how much can scoot, shae & clingan improve in the future, they are the players with most potential on the team (clingan hasnt played much, but scoot & shae are making gradual improvement, which is encouraging, especially for scoot, considering how awful he was in his rookie season)

chauncey billups also seems like someone who should be kept, hes improved as a head coach, although for the most of his tenure here, he looked like a lost case, but i guess he only needed time...

[Han Solo]

I Iike Portland. And I love Chauncey. I’m here for it.

[Exp0sed]

Gonna give Portland some love man. Im watching them more and more lately and they're a damn fun team to watch. Feels like all they are lacking is a legit tier 1 type player to make them legit.

Although i will say Deni is playing some great basketball lately. Feels like he's finally arrived as a player with the blazers.

So where do we have them next season? Feels like West is once again trending towards a damn bloodbath and i feel Blazers will easily be in the mix of it.

OKC
Denver
Lakers
Clippers
Grizz
Houston
GSW
Spurs
Trailblazers
Wolves
Kings

Dude all of these teams are dangerous. Im not saying all of these teams are contenders but barring injuries none of these teams are an easy out.

If they win the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes, hell yeah. Even if they get Ace Bailey or VJ Edgecombe, they're still in a really good spot.

I think they're right there, but ship Jerami Grant for a better wing, ship DeAndre Ayton for a stretch two-way big and picks. Anfernee Simons and Sheadon Sharpe are good.

Grant is a goner for sure, the young core's sudden rise in performance coincided well with Grant out the rotation

Ayton actually looked halfway enganged before he got injured and is looking pretty active on the sidelines. I think he actually likes it in Portland (for a change) so he'll probably stick around for now, i'm guessing

[Chuck Everett]

Is there no accounting for chemistry/roster stability? The reason Houston is better isn't just because of having a lot of draft picks. They aren't just making trades all willy-nilly either.

[playoffs]

Unless one of Deni Avdija maintain his current star level production, Sheadon Sharpe develops enough became a true star, or they get Cooper Flagg, I don't view that outcome as very likely. Maybe they will end being a poor man's version of the the Houston Rockets, but with far worse coaching.That feels a 8-10 seed team in the West and getting eliminated in the play-in. I do like them as a potential Luka Doncic, Trae Young, or Jaren Jackson Jr Free Agent destination in 2026 to push towards them towards true contention if they become good enough team to make the play -in, while being several of games over .500.

Portland is 19-10 in their last 29 games. That's a .655 percentage which would be good for 2nd seed in the west had they been doing it all season. Do I expect them to be 2nd in the West next season? No. But this is a completely different team than the one that started the season 13-29. Every one of their young players has made strides, most notably Scoot, Toumani, and of course Deni. They are playing a mature, team oriented, and consistent brand of basketball, with very good defense. Unless they take a huge step backwards next season, they should be a solid playoff team even without getting a Cooper Flagg in the draft.

[ValvPiti]

Playing a keeper league where i got Avdija and cant decide on who to keep, but if he keeps this up, there's no way around him staying around. Absolute banger last 6 games. Really does have the potential to be a pure stat sheet stuffer!

[playoffs]

I Iike Portland. And I love Chauncey. I’m here for it.

Chauncey doesn't get enough credit imo. Yes, he plays Grant too much and gives Simons a longer leash than he does Scoot or Shae, but no coach is perfect, and you really can't argue with the results. Not just in terms of W-L record, but in seeing how good and consistent this team has been on both sides of the floor, how the young players have improved despite fans complaining about their playing time, and how everyone on the team seems to like each other and play for one another. You can replace Chauncey with a coach that might be better at the Xs and Os but there's no guarantee they'll keep all those other things going.

[pipfan]

I like them next year to make the Playin/Playoffs (and, as a Bulls' fan-this is promising for us)
Henderson/Simons
Sharpe/Simons
Camara/Grant
Deni/Grant
Ayton/Clingan
Deep bench of Murray/Thybulle/RWill/#10 pick (Kneuppl would be a good fit as a bench shooter)
Simons/Grant/Clingan is an elite bench-plus great depth