2015-16 Finish: 16-66

Season Highlight:

This one was tough as it was a hard season to spot many highlights for the TrailBlazers. I would say the fact that Dion Waiters took charge as the go-to guy of the team and really decided to lead them, even though he probably got that burden by default.

Season Lowlight:

Definitely the fact that the team was bad all season. This once playoff contender team, now lines up one of the worst squad in the league in terms of talent. It has been a season of lowlights for the Blazers.

Best Trade:

Blazers receive: Brice Johnson + 2^nd rounder (Tor)  
Blazers send: Robin Lopez

There weren’t a lot of trades of note in this section, because there weren’t a lot of good trades made by the team. Regardless, maybe this one takes the early nod just because it is going in the right direction, which is the one of rebuilding and, at this point, the only direction this team can afford to go. Lopez’ skills have dimished gradually this season and getting a first rounder + a second for him is not that bad. All depends on how Brice Johnson turns out, though. GM djdrew seems high on him.

Worst Trade:

Blazers Receive: Jose (J.J.) Barea + 1^st rounder Hou
Blazers Send: Shabbaz Napier + 1^st rounder Por + 2^nd rounder Por

I didn’t get this deal now (nobody did), and I don’t get it today. It makes no sense really if you think about it. Barea is a reserve level player, so his value doesn’t overpower the value of that Portland pick enough to be worth pulling the trigger on this trade. In the end, Portland got a better backup PG and a pick in the 20’s, because Houston is going to be in that range, for likely a top 5 pick, a 30-35^th pick (which are valueable) and a lesser backup PG. This one still blows my mind. By the way, that Portland 1^st was traded for Hassan Whiteside, in case you’re wondering.   

Other Notable Trades:

Blazers Receive: David Lee
Blazers Send: Channing Frye + Jordan Adams

Why a team that needs young players and prospects, sends them away is beyond me. This trade would probably be ok with Frye and GM points, since Lee is on the downside of his career. The point is this trade wasn’t necessary for a team that was already bad and Lee wasn’t going to change anything. I guess the point of this one was to show the league they were trying to be competitive, but this team needs to keep their younglins in order to try and hit on some of them.

Blazers receive: Kevin Garnett
Blazers send: Joel Anthony

Oh KG, how far you’ve come! This was probably the reason KG retired, lol! Being traded for Joel Anthony can help you see the end of the line pretty quickly. Garnett was actually useful in his final season, but he couldn’t find himself on a contender to help play for a title, so his final moments will be as a Blazer! Farewell, my friend!

Best FA Signing:

Robin Lopez takes this one. Portland was one of the few, if not only, teams that offered him a contract due to it being seen as a massive deal at the time. That deal look just average now in the FA madness era! Lopez was solid for Portland and was guaranteed a starting spot for the whole season, so the offer was too tempting for RoLo. Keep on fighting mascots, RoLo!

Worst FA Signing:

Sonny Weems, Christapher Johnson, Joel Anthony, you take your pick. Those are end of the bench signings just to make the minimum amount of players. Amazing how some of them just keep getting NBA deals again and again. Sonny Weems, BA teams, seriously?

Star:

Dion Waiters by a mile! 22 points per game and this team’s clear scoring option on any given night. He wasn’t very effective, but with teams ganging up on you every game, it makes things very hard! Still Dion deserves the title of star of the team.
 
Surprise:

Maybe the fact that Jason Thompson is starting for an NLL team and averaging 7 and 7 when he’s trying to be the 15th man on most NBA teams.

Goat:

Kyle Singler. The Duke alum received a contract extension just before the season started and so far not shown he’s worthy of that and when you consider the fact that he was traded for a lottery pick in the past, it makes you wonder about his career going forward.

Draft Report Card:

The Blazers drafted Kris Dunn, but in a draft day trade, sent him packing to the Raptors in a three-way deal that netted them Jaylen Brown, a player GM djdrew was said to be very high on! So they got their man! Brown certainly has a lot of raw potential because of his athletic upside. Later on they selected Brice Johnson out of North Carolina, a player that has been defined for his athletic prowess and intangibles. Also, he’s got a mean jumperin his game. Lastly, Jake Layman, out of Maryland, a versatile forward that was selected as that late round flyer and will look to make the final roster.

Looking to the Future:

This is all about Jaylen Brown, because he has a lot of potential, though still very raw, but his ability to progress and turn himself into a star is what the Blazers fans will be holding on to. This team desperately needs star power and maybe they’ve just got it via a draft pick, for once. Aside from that, Terry Rozier, who’s been having a good off-season, Sam Dekker, Jarrell Martin and Frank Kaminsky are all former first rounders that this team has in fold to try and revamp the Blazers back to glory. The rebuild is in full swing, boys. On the flipside, the Blazers will notbe good for a while now, and they don’t hold their own first rounder again until 2019, which is worrisome. Gotta hope that Minnesota sucks in 2017 so they can get a good pick out of that!  

Upcoming Free Agents:

P.J. Hairston â€“ The team has declined a team option for his services so I don’t think he’ll be coming back, even though they should try to retain as many young guys as they can, but since we don’t even know if he’ll have a place in the NBA next year…

David Lee – Has an outstanding player option, but unlikely to re-sign.

Dion Waiters – Has an outstanding player option, and Portland should do everything in their power to re-sign him.

Ramon Sessions – GM’s favorite player, has pretty much carved a place for himself in the team. Has an outstanding player option, and I think the GM will try to persuade him to stay.

Christapher Johnson – Fringe player in the NBA and looking to make the roster, unlikely to be re-signed.