The Winding Road to Tankvana
The Blazers need to keep losing, but there are two games left they need to win
The Blazers had what was mostly a great road trip for the tank last week. They nearly beat the Brooklyn Nets, which would have matched only the Lakers win and Josh Hart’s “Barack Obama” night as the best wins of the post-CJ McCollum trade stretch of the season. Sunday’s blowout loss to the Pacers was perhaps their best piece of tanking yet. But the CJ McCollum trade is continuing to have an effect on the potential offseason plans the Blazers have for themselves. And then they beat the Pistons. That only led to things getting more serious on Wednesday night.
In a stroke of tank commanding genius, the Blazers moved former lottery pick and definite draft bust, Kris Dunn, into the starting lineup over G League up-and-comer Brandon Williams, who at least unlike Dunn, could be the lead guard of an elite EuroLeague team.
Yes, this was undoubtedly part of the plan the Blazers executed in February. They wanted to win fewer games. And the team who traded for McCollum, the New Orleans Pelicans, were desperate to make its way into the play-in after a schedule marred by another lost year for Zion Williamson.
It’s not hard to see the logic: getting closer to the play-in would both lower New Orleans’ lottery chances but it would also ensure that Portland wouldn’t somehow climb into the play-in. However, as the season comes to a close and the Los Angeles Lakers refuse to inspire confidence, things are getting a little scarier. With LeBron resting on Wednesday against Philly, it was worrisome. But after taking a deep breath it’s clear a rested LeBron for the final nine games of the Lakers season, with them only 0.5 games ahead of the Pelicans for the 9th spot and homecourt in the first play-in game, may just be the Angel the Blazers hopes for a Lillard-core need.
CJ McCollum has saved the Pelicans’ lost season and, at least in the opinion of this observer, the job of Pellies boss David Griffin. He’s brought elite scoring and the type of leadership the Pelicans had lacked. In a world where Zion Williamson doesn’t ever play again for New Orleans, McCollum brings the kind of professional credibility the rest of the Pelicans have only seen on TV. And while many a Blazers fan have enjoyed seeing CJ look at home with his new team, what comes next may not come so naturally. Now the Blazers and fans will have to do a couple of things that don’t feel quite right: rooting for the Lakers to win and also, the Blazers have two pretty important games they actually need to win over the next two weeks, against McCollum and the Pelicans.
Wednesday, March 30, is McCollum’s return to the Moda Center and the Blazers also pay a visit to the Big Easy on April 7 for their penultimate road game of this season. That is also Josh Hart’s first game back in New Orleans, as well as potentially the return of fellow new Blazer and one of my All-Time Hoop Summit Favorites, Didi Louzada. While the instinct has been for the Blazers to lose every possible game in order to have a chance at drafting a franchise-changing talent like Chet Holmgren or Paolo Banchero, or even Jabari Smith (though I have to confess Chet and Paolo are my top choices), the Blazers need to have two lottery picks in order to truly retool this offseason. That part is non-negotiable.
With regards to Portland’s own pick, if the Blazers get lucky, it could be Holmgren or Banchero. However, having that additional lottery pick to dangle at teams staring down veteran players on contracts they no longer want to pay, such as Jerami Grant, as reported by the Athletic, will be crucial to adding talent to the team without giving up a core piece.
Now, while I’m skeptical other teams will be offering something better than a mid-lottery pick for Jerami Grant, having that additional pick gives Portland options. Perhaps they could combine it to trade up, or they could use one of their picks for someone other than Grant, such as John Collins.
Nevertheless, wing defense is THE premium in the NBA and the Blazers don’t have enough to pay for it without two picks this season. While there have been concerns about Grant not being willing to defer to rookie Cade Cunningham, there is a major difference when it comes to a rookie and someone much higher in the pecking order like Damian Lillard. If the need is another wing stopper, who isn’t a liability on offense, something that is seemingly unheard of in the Lillard era, then Grant is clearly the best choice.
But while Joe Cronin has executed a masterful tank, his job may require one final turn of the vessel. Thankfully for the Blazers, they’ve left themselves outs if they need to, by making the injury situations of Simons and Nurkic open-ended.
For a new administration trying to lean on flexibility as an identity, this is Joe Cronin and Chauncey Billups’ first opportunity to put their rhetoric into practice. But while they’re in charge, in the opinion of this writer, it’s time to pull Nurk and Ant off the bench like a 6th Man.