Portland Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum makes up one of the best scoring backcourts in the league, but these two alone have not been able to carry the Portland Trail Blazers come playoff time. They have gone to the postseason for seven consecutive seasons and will make it eight this year, but they have reached the Western Conference Finals just once in 2019.
They have two star players in their backcourt and some solid role players around them in Robert Covington and Carmelo Anthony, but this team is missing that extra jolt of firepower to make them a true contender in a loaded Western Conference.
The Trail Blazers traded for Norman Powell at the NBA trade deadline hoping that he could be that third key talent for them, but this trade has not worked out in Portland’s favor and Powell is expected to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason after he opts out of his player option for the 2021-22 season.
The Trail Blazers will not have much cap space in the offseason to play around with, but with everyone on their roster besides Lillard and McCollum entering the final years of their contracts, they could be gearing up to make a significant trade to bring in another All-Star caliber talent.
READ MORE: NBA Trade Rumors: The best offseason trade Knicks can offer the Blazers for Damian Lillard
If the Trail Blazers do not make a move to add more talent in the offseason, then they could be wasting the best years of both Lillard’s and McCollum’s careers, which would definitely cripple this organization for the foreseeable future. This organization is just one piece away from being something special and they need to find that missing piece this offseason.
