There’s been quite a lot of trades from the Portland front office after winning the initial Summer League Tournament. The team still brings a lot of the same elements, except now they have a Gasol coming off the bench. So I would say the team got better through these trades. They should still be the best team in the league. 

Competition

As I hinted previously, this team is very tough to beat because they have an elite big coming off the bench. If your backup center is Luke Kornet, Maxi Kleber, or Ekpe Udoh, then you’re probably going to have a bad time. 

It’s also great that the Blazers were able to get Capela through trades. Capela and Harden have amazing synergy. Capela’s lob threat grants Harden a variety of plays to choose from on offense. Expect to see a lot of alley-oops versus this team.

Both Capela and Gasol are amazing rebounders. Both your starting and backup big will have to be competent enough to reduce the amount of second chance plays for the Blazers as they will rack up offensive rebounds if you don’t keep them in check. This is especially beneficial for Harden who takes a lot of shots.

These are the only teams I see that have enough competent bigs to match up with Capela and Gasol:

• Brooklyn - Andre Drummond and Ivica Zubac
• Miami - Deandre Jordan and Mo Bamba
• Philadelphia - Rudy Gobert and Hassan Whiteside
• Toronto - Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Baynes

Best Player

James Harden. He’s a top 3 player. I don’t really have to elaborate. We all recognize his game.

Trades

8/8/2019

Portland receives Jabrari Parker and Golden State 2021 2nd-round

Golden State Receives Serge Ibaka

Analysis: Pretty even trade

7/17/2019

Portland receives 8 GM points

Orlando receives Portland 2022 2nd-round

Analysis: I would not trade basketball assets for non-basketball assets (such as cash considerations).

7/8/2019

Portland receives nothing

Orlando receives Portland 2020 1st-round

Analysis: Someone please explain this to me.

6/29/2019

Portland receives Serge Ibaka, Bojan Bogdanovic, Royce O’Neale, and Sacramento 2021 1st-round

Sacramento receives Jrue Holiday, Jonas Jerebko, Al-Faruoq Aminu, and Portland 2021 2nd-round

Analysis: Slight overpay for Sacramento. Look at it as a 10% tip.

6/26/2019

Portland receives Clint Capela, Rudy Gay, and Cleveland 2021 2nd-round

New York receives Derrick Favors, Jakob Poetl, Portland 2021 1st-round, Portland 2020 2nd-round, San Antonio 2020 2nd-round

Orlando Magic receives Dewayne Dedmon

Analysis: Looks like a pretty even trade here.

6/6/2019

Portland receives Marc Gasol, Jakob Poetl, and Washington 2021 1st-round

Washington receives Jusuf Nurkic, Tyreke Evans, and Yogi Ferrell

Analysis: Big haul for Portland. What they gave up was probably enough for Gasol alone. Jakob Poetl is a previous first rounder who hasn’t disappointed. So it is as if Portland paid the price for Gasol and got two additional 1st rounders in return.

5/21/2019

Portland receives Elfrid Payton

Boston receives Justin Anderson, Kenrich Williams, Portland 2019 1st-round (Tyler Herro), and Portland 2019 2nd-round (Daniel Gafford)

Analysis: This looks like a hefty price to pay for Elfrid Payton.

Durability

Rudy Gay (33 years old) - Of all the players to suffer Achilles Tear, he is the only one still standing (others were Jonas Jerebko, Demarcus Cousins, and Kevin Durant). He will probably play a spot role with the San Antonio Spurs. So we’re hoping he can have another healthy season like last year in which he was able to play 69 games.

Marc Gasol (34 years old) - Gasol has been pretty durable for the past three years.

Development

Mikal Bridges - Mikal Bridges is developing into a Trevor Ariza type player as the Portland Trailblazers front office had been hoping. This year, his 3PT shooting should get better as well as his defense. I don’t think we’ll see much passing or dribbling improvement from him this year.

Luke Kennard - Luke Kennard showed potential at the end of last season. He was trusted with heavy minutes in the Detroit vs Milwaukee playoffs series at the end of the season as well. The Blazers are hoping he can develop into a starting caliber guard.

Duncan Robinson - Duncan Robinson was tearing up the G League last season and now it looks like he will be on an official NBA roster this year. He provides elite shooting and length. Lets see how he does at the professional level this year.

Isaiah Hartenstein - Hartenstein is just a G League level center. He still looks like the same guy as last year. He’s still good value though if he ends up on a two-way contract.

Salary Cap

Players on roster: 12

Total Salary: $137,158,626

Luxury Tax: $132,627,000

Amount Over: $4,531,626

The Blazers still have three open roster spots and $4 million over the luxury cap. I don’t think this will stop them from picking up some minimum players off the free agent market. They will, however, be looking at making trades to reduce salary though. They will have 15 weeks to do this. 

New Contracts

Bojan Bogdanovic (4 year / $73,100,000 contract) - $7,000,000 increase per year raise

Rudy Gay (2 year / $32,000,000 contract) - $4,000,000 increase per year raise

Elfrid Payton (2 year / $16,000,000 contract) - $5,000,000 increase per year raise

Duncan Robinson (3 year / $3,090,187 contract) - $1,000,000 increase per year raise

Jabrari Parker (2 year / $13,000,000 contract) - 14,000,000 decrease per year paycut

Jabrari Parker taking a major paycut helps the Blazers’ payroll a lot. I don’t know how I feel about Rudy Gay getting $14.5 million a year though. I don’t think any of these are bad contracts. I don’t think any of these are good contracts either. Having those extra years on contract can add value to a contract though. Especially to a GM like Greenmig. 

Upcoming Free Agents

The Trailblazers only have two expiring contracts: Marc Gasol and Royce O’Neale. I don’t think this should be too hard to retain next summer. In fact, I think this allows the Blazers to take on a couple more expiring contract through trades. 

Conclusion

The Portland Trailblazers are the best team in the league. They have a majority of their players signed for the long term. I see no durability issues yet, but I can see a regression in ratings for Gay and Gasol due to age. I see ratings increases for Mikal Bridges, Luke Kennard, and even Duncan Robinson. But with all that said, I don’t see anybody on this team staying but Harden and Bridges. That’s just the way Portland rolls.