The Portland Trailblazers Have Had a Nice Offseason So Far [UPDATE]
By Jason McIntyre
Heading into the offseason, Portland’s needs were clear:
A) Get help inside for LaMarcus Aldridge, as it was clear JJ Hickson wasn’t coming back
B) Fortify one of the weakest benches in the league.
[UPDATE: A few minutes after this post went up, the Blazers announced the signing of Dorrell Wright for 2-years, $6 million. Also, I forgot they traded for Thomas Robinson. Both will be valuable bench pieces.]
The bench was bolstered through the draft with two very good scorers – CJ McCollum from Lehigh and Allen Crabbe from Cal. McCollum was hurt last season, so if you’re not a college hoops fan, you don’t know what he’s capable of. (Answer: A lot.)
Crabbe is a scoring machine who occasionally pouts, but who should be good for 20 minutes a night off the bench.
I’m thinking the Blazers could compete with Minnesota and New Orleans for one of the final playoff spots.