The National Basketball Association (NBA) team, the Portland Trailblazers, have been reconjuring their roster trying to reboot the team, and this year they may have just done it.
One of the first major changes that the Blazers made to give fans a reason to keep on cheering for them was trading Anfernee Simons for Jrue Holiday. Simons was a first round draft in 2018 that the Blazers chose, making it a surprise that such a long term player who really understood the team was traded for an older Holiday, who has had a better career in the long term.
A possible reason for trading away Simons is that the Blazers have an increasingly young roster of people, so having an older and more experienced player in the NBA could really help the team by giving them a person to look up to and learn from.
The new starting center for the Blazers in Donovan Cligan, who is 7 foot 2 inches and was picked up in the 2024 draft. His rookie year he averaged 6.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks, leading the rookies in blocks that year while playing nearly 20 minutes a game. It’s his second year on the team, and he is a starter this year despite his short time with the Blazers.
The back up center for Donovan Clingan is a young Yang Hansen, who was recently picked up in a trade that same day he got drafted, being sent from the Memphis Grizzlies. Hansen has a lot of potential as a center as he is a towering 7feet 1inch just at 20 years old pairing that with clean passes really makes him full package; however because of his build he isn’t the fastest on the court.
After a two year stint away from the Blazers while playing for the Bucks and looking for the championship win that he wanted with a more tournament ready team, Damian Lillard is back playing for the Blazers. “I’m excited to be back, just being back in this city has brought a different type of joy back to my life,” said Lillard, the poster child of the Blazers for years. Although he’s back to Portland, Lillard is likely out for the whole season due to an achilles tendon injury that he sustained last season, but has still signed a three year contract with the Blazers.
Another new interesting guard that the Blazers picked up named Blake Wesley is someone that you should look out for. His style of defense is something that isn’t common in the league today, always pressuring the offense and never giving them a chance to breathe. Wesley isn’t afraid to get in someone’s face and get rough with them. The more experienced Holiday said “He doesn’t get tired, he doesn’t back down from anybody,” along with, “Having him on our team [is crucial], we need him.”
A large point of contention this season is head coach Chauncey Billups’ contract getting renewed through the 2027-28 season. This is his first time being the head coach of any NBA team.
A recent controversial development is about Billups and the Miami Heats head coach Erik Spoelstra being arrested for betting on NBA games. They also set up illegal rigged poker games that were orchestrated by the mafia families called La Cosa Nostra. These families did most of the dirty work such as collecting the debts for a cut of the proceeds.
Billups current status as a coach is unknown, the most the Blazers have dared to respond to his arrest is, “ Billups has been placed on immediate leave, and Tiago Splitter will assume head coaching duties in the interim.”
Between the new centers that the Blazers picked up, changing their lineup and the more experienced players joining the roster, there’s good reason to look out for the Blazers this year.
