The Portland Trail Blazers became the surprise team of the NBA Playoffs after being the biggest losers in the offseason.
Losing four of five starters is a nightmare and when your sixth man also leaves, it seems like the league has signed your tanking license. Thus, when the team reaches the playoffs, that's already a remarkable achievement.
Granted, there were strokes of luck -the Houston Rockets were very bad and injuries hit the Memphis Grizzlies allowing the Blazers to slip to the fifth position. But they still needed to win games in order to rise in the standings.
Will the Trailblazers be able to take the next step towards greatness-which means signing big free agents? Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley and the rest of Inside the NBA discussed the team(h/t Oregon Live for the transcription).
Shaq asked the question: "Now can Portland lure any top free agents to come there? Because they're one or two pieces away from being a great team. Those guys competed, they came out and played, but if you get one or two big-time players and a couple others, who knows, so that's the question of the day."
One or two pieces, ideally a rim protecting big guy and a solid wing scorer who can defend-most teams hitting the free agency hard, like the LA Lakers and Boston Celtics, are seeking similar players.
Kenny Smith noted that this could be their ceiling unless they get the free agent signing, but Charles Barkley was more forgiving.
"This is their first year together. McCollum just won Most Improved Player," Chuck said. "So he's a young guy, Damian's a young guy, so those young guys are gonna get better. Are they gonna win the championship next year? No. But they got a nice base to build upon. I think... they don't have any guy on their team over like 25-26!"
The Portland Trail Blazers fan site Champ and Chime took a homer's view of the free agents the Blazers should pursue and evaluated the team's chances. They arrived at a conclusion that the best free agent to pursue was Hassan Whiteside.
"He's crazy athletic. He's a monster on the defensive end, and his positioning and fundamentals are finally catching up to his blocking ability," the article stated. Whiteside also fits the timeline of the young team.
While Portland is not known as a big market team, the Blazers is the only professional sports team in the city. That gives them a solid fan base. Owner Paul Allen and GM Neil Olshey should consider giving him a max offer. There are rivals but there is a chance Whiteside could look at this team and see that this place is where he could be a star and contend at the same time.