This year’s unusual NBA schedule required teams to choose draft picks and sign free agents in a tight time frame, forcing the Portland Trail Blazers to overhaul its roster in a matter of days. It wasn’t an ideal situation for any team, the Blazers’ president of basketball operations, Neil Olshey, said Monday.
“I don’t know that you’ll talk to any coach or front office or player that ideally wouldn’t like to have the luxury of more time if it was afforded to them,” Olshey said.
The 2019-20 season was interrupted last March, as government officials locked down large spectator venues amid the coronavirus pandemic. The health restrictions were enacted just as teams were headed to the closing weeks of the NBA regular season. Games resumed in a protected “bubble” in Orlando, Florida, where only teams with a chance of reaching the playoffs were invited. The Blazers were included, and overcame unlikely odds to make the playoffs — also played in Orlando — where Portland was eliminated by the eventual-champion Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.
The late conclusion of the 2019-20 season and the ongoing pandemic delayed the upcoming 2020-21 season, with games scheduled to begin toward the end of December, nearly two months later than usual.
But, just as the Blazers were able to respond well on the court in Orlando under difficult circumstances, team officials and many NBA experts say the Blazers have made the most of a difficult situation during the compacted offseason.
Portland’s offseason moves fall into two categories: bringing in new players to help shore up the team’s weak defense and returning familiar players to ensure stability.
“We were number two in offense in the NBA, 27th in defense, and the idea was a sliding scale: How do we try to maintain the offensive end, while improving the defense,” Olshey said.
The Blazers’ answer to that problem, Olshey said, was adding two players who played excellent defense on teams that made the playoffs last season.
“I think our biggest challenge was on the defensive end of the floor,” Olshey said. “Obviously, we’ve added two elite defenders with Robert Covington and Derrick Jones [Jr.].”
The Blazers landed Covington through a trade with the Houston Rockets, and the team signed Jones away from Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat.
The new Blazers won’t have long to learn their new team, with preseason starting in less than a month. Olshey said the two new players are accustomed to their roles on both offense and defense, and he’s not concerned about them fitting in.
“We’re hoping that the continuity along with the new additions will give us an edge,” Olshey said. “The years that we’ve started really well — we’ve had big years. The years that we’ve kind of started out of the gates a little slower, it’s been an uphill climb to get back into the playoff race.”
Olshey noted that the Blazers took steps to bring back players who were familiar with the team.
The Blazers traded for Enes Kanter, bringing back a key contributor to the team’s run to the Western Conference Finals in 2019. They signed Harry Giles, who was briefly a Trail Blazer before being traded to the Sacramento Kings a few years ago.
At the same time, the Trail Blazers have said good-bye to a few players from last season, including forward Mario Hezonja, who was included in one of the Blazers’ trades, and 7-foot center Hassan Whiteside, who is expected to sign with another team where he can earn a higher salary than the Blazers can offer.
Olshey noted that the Blazers’ “core” remains the same: point guard Damian Lillard, shooting guard CJ McCollum and center Jusuf Nurkic, who all remain under contract for the upcoming season. The Blazers also held onto several key young players, including backup point guard Anfernee Simons, and wings Gary Trent Jr. and Nassir Little.
The Blazers kept two key players who made big contributions last season by signing them to new contracts: Forward Rodney Hood and perennial All-Star Carmelo Anthony. Olshey said Anthony received offers from multiple teams to play a similar role to what the Blazers are offering.
“The fact that [Anthony] chose us over them, is a really nice validation that we’re doing things the right way and we’re treating people well when they’re here,” Olshey said.
In his Monday press conference Olshey returned repeatedly to emphasize the importance of re-signing Anthony, who at 36, is not the superstar that he was earlier in his career. In fact, Anthony was completely out of the league a year ago, before Portland signed him and gave him another chance. Olshey said Anthony’s may play a smaller role on the court this year, but his presence will be enormous, particularly for the team’s younger players.
“Melo’s a guy — a lot of these guys grew up with Melo’s poster on their walls.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Derrick Jones Jr.’s name. OPB regrets the error.