The Trail Blazers haven't played the playoffs in three years.
It's not important news. For passers-by, after Lillard left Portland, the Trail Blazers didn't have any value in the news to ridicule Tonbor. They lie quietly on the floor of the West, not fighting or grabbing, and they probably won't jump out to compete with you for a play-off spot in the foreseeable future.
Judging in this way, it is not "malicious" to look down on the pioneers. If you were to interview a random Trail Blazers fan, the answer would most likely be, "We guess we'll have to put it for another year."
The Trail Blazers have lost two-thirds of their games over the past three years, including when Lillard was still with the team. In the past three years, I have made a few good deals, almost all of which were sold before the value of the player's contract entered a downward slope, and I have accumulated some rebuilding assets. But the Trail Blazers are still far from rebuilding, and the first question at hand is, who exactly are they going to rebuild around?
He averaged 13.6 points + 3.1 rebounds + 5.1 assists + 3.3 turnovers per game, with a true shooting rate of 48.8%. Here's Henderson's rookie season so far in the panel, what an inefficiency. In terms of specific court performances, apart from the styling, muscles and temperament that he looks like a star, most of Henderson's game content is a disaster, and I don't know which angle to praise it from.
Of course, this shouldn't be too unexpected. The players who ignited the team's delivery struggled more than this after entering the league. According to the law, in another 2 years, there may be improvement.
If you're working very hard to find Henderson's potential, there are two positive signs:
First of all, he's a point guard. Although there are many mistakes, it is more important for rookies to dare to pass than mistakes. Henderson averaged 5.1 assists per game, had seven assists in double figures, and could give through balls and hit the ground in small spaces, and should have potential in the block and pick-and-roll;
Second, although Henderson often adjusts the smoother layups on the left to the right hand, which looks awkward, which exposes the shortcomings of his left-handed skills, and the finishing and throwing are also inaccurate, he can do some acrobatic moves that don't seem simple, which are the prerequisites for playing difficult balls in the future.
If you just look at the good parts, Henderson hasn't completely strayed and has a little hope of being an aggressive playmaker.
You can pray in this direction, but the chances of this vision becoming a reality are not necessarily great.
The Trail Blazers can't put the treasure on Henderson. Another of the new "backcourt doubles," Shaedon Sharpe, has played 32 games this season due to injury, wasting more than half of his sophomore season. Intuitively, Sharpe's outlook is more optimistic than Henderson's, presumably because the visual part of Sharpe's talent is more intuitive, he can fly and play, and his efficiency is not so embarrassing.
But Sharp's track has a lower bar - the No. 2 scorer, a bit of a projection, not prominent enough, good physical, poor defensive skills, if you can't get up, then it's the most risky type. Consider the paradoxical situation that a higher-talented, higher-picked, higher-ranked shooting guard than Sharpe found himself in a third-year position, and that might even be a good prospect for Sharpe this time next year.
The Trail Blazers can't take for granted that their new version of the Twin Guns will inevitably inherit the glory of Lee's guidance and CJ. As for the other young people, they are even more incompatible with the core of the team:
Chris Murray, who was selected in the first round according to the puzzle, is unfortunately not the same level as his younger brother;
Kamara, Jabari Walker, Banton, Rupert and others, or in the second round of the lottery or on the lottery, they may have occasional highlights, but the best results are just one of the pieces of the puzzle.
If the Rockets now know who their future core is, but they are still apprehensive about contract extensions, then the Trail Blazers are further away from that goal. The Rockets rebuild began in the 20-21 season, and the Trail Blazers' nominally official rebuild began this season when they sent Lillard away last summer. But in fact, in the 21-22 and 22-23 seasons, the Trail Blazers are no different from the rebuild. In the last two years of holding Lillard, the configuration adjustments made by the Trail Blazers, including sending CJ away, replacing Stotts, rebuilding the forward line, etc., looked more like a rebuild than reinforcements, after all:
The Trail Blazers sent away CJ, Powell, Covington, Nance Jr.;
The people who started were Hart and Grant;
There is a change in type, but the latter group will not be stronger than the previous one either.
The moment CJ was sent away, it was not only the era of the two guns that ended, but also the previous stage of the Trailblazers' team. Lillard has a special relationship with Portland, and there are some entanglements in the contract, which makes the official announcement of the breakup a bit late. But the one that was given out, which has been protected by the lottery until the first round in 2028 (resulting in the inability to send away the first round during this period), is actually more representative of the mentality of the Trail Blazers - they will not invest anymore, and the team is already thinking about the next cycle. Of course, the Trail Blazers won't really go all the way until 2028, and if they do, it's purely disgusting to the Bulls (they can't cash in this first-round pick in 2028 and give the Bulls a second-round pick instead).
However, the core issue has not been resolved for a day, and the rotten problem cannot be stopped for a day. This summer, the Trail Blazers will have a high-pick first-round pick (and a mid-pick first-round pick from the Warriors). Interestingly, ESPN's recent mock draft list selected Serbian point guard Tobic for the Trail Blazers, and recent favorite, Corna interior lineman Klingen, is also likely to be among the Trail Blazers' options. The various mock draft rosters don't mean much at this time, just look at it, and its value is more in the media's evaluation of rookies than in the team's selection of whom.
What I'm curious about is if the Trail Blazers, with two high-pick guards and Dunbao, will they really pick guards and interior players?
From a positional perspective, the Trail Blazers should focus on the forward line. But from the perspective of talent rather than position, the Trail Blazers should take the best talent they can choose. The answers released by the Trail Blazers in the draft in June will reflect their understanding of the current state of the team to some extent — if the Trail Blazers do draft a point guard, at least it means that they are not so optimistic about Henderson's prospects.
In fact, the Trail Blazers want to determine their future with a possible No. 5 pick in the draft. The Trail Blazers also control five first-round picks from other teams, but with the exception of the Warriors' first-rounder, which was also cashed in this summer, the first-round picks or swap rights for the Green Army and Bucks are all 28 years later. Far water can't quench the thirst of the near, and in the short term, reconstruction depends on itself.
That's why, both onlookers and Trail Blazers fans believe the team will inevitably put another season on the back and continue to harvest high-pick talent next summer.
Does it matter to neutral fans?
Significant. Because the Trailblazers still have in their hands:
Grant, Brogdon, Sable, Anfernee Simmons, Robert Williams, and, Dunbao.
If these six people are healthy, it will not be difficult to give the playoff team an intensity.
Grant is 30 years old, and he can't catch up with the next era of the Trail Blazers. Brogdon is 1 year older than Grant and his contract expires in the summer of '25. Thybulle and Lowe were good pieces of the puzzle before they played, and because they were good, going to another team would be more valuable than staying with the Trail Blazers.
Simon, yes, he's the seed planted by the Trail Blazers last era, and he's more of a new leader for the Trail Blazers than the immature Sharpe and Henderson. But what he can do next year's 7th grade — for reference, Mitchell 7th grade — is not give the Trail Blazers a 10-year look forward to it, but a couple of nightly explosions that will drop two spots in the Trail Blazers' draft pick. His contract isn't that bad, and the offensive level is on the line, and maybe there's something more needed about him.
As for Dunbao, he is the only player in the Trail Blazers' wave of mature stars who can connect with the future. After the hardness improvement, Ayton may have been included in the long-term plan of the Trailblazers. Will a more futuristic trade package make the Trail Blazers hesitate?
Considering Ayton's contract, such a package doesn't seem to be easy to come by. Maybe the Trail Blazers and Ayton will go through the next year together. In the summer of 2025, Ayton enters a contract year, and the Trail Blazers should really get to the core, and at that time, the two sides will think more seriously about each other's futures.
Until a new playoff team breaks up, the Trail Blazers will be on vacation, the most important "arsenal" in the West. There is no reason why they should not send a group of talents to the outside world, and follow the example of the Thunder to accumulate enough resources for the construction of the team. Gathering together, except to cloud each other's future with a fog, is meaningless. Scattered across the alliance, it solves key needs in all aspects.
The biggest mistake between the Trail Blazers and Lillard may be the two years of repeated tugging.
Such a mistake cannot be made again.