Blazers stay the course on their rebuilding project heading into the new season
AP Sports Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Portland Trail Blazers didn’t make any big moves in the offseason, opting instead to stay on course with a long-term rebuilding project.
Jerami Grant, Deandre Ayton and Anfernee Simons will form the team’s nucleus as Portland continues to develop young players, including Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson.
“I like where we are at with this roster, but I love where we are headed,” GM Joe Cronin said Monday during the team’s media day.
The Blazers went 21-61 last season after trading away All-Star Damian Lillard and failed to make the playoffs for the third straight year. They were stung by injuries, with Simons, Sharpe and Henderson missing a combined 105 games.
There’s no doubt the Blazers are a young team. Grant, 30, is the most experienced with 10 years in the NBA. Ayton and Simons have six years each in the league.
Sharpe, 21, is embarking on his third year, while the 20-year-old Henderson was a rookie last year. Both struggled with injuries, which slowed their progress. Simons injured his thumb in the season opener and required surgery.
Grant led Portland with an average of 21 points a game, while Ayton averaged 11.1 rebounds. Henderson led the team with 5.4 assists per game.
Portland made its biggest move of the season on draft day, selecting Donovan Clingan with the seventh pick. They picked up forward Deni Avdija in July in a trade with the Washington Wizards.
Coach Chauncey Billups was clear that he understands where the Blazers stand in the process and that the payoff may not come this year.
“I just want our guys to be connected, I want our guys to know each other, I want them to play for each other. We don’t have that go get a bucket iso guy every single time. So we can’t afford to play that way,” Billups said. “We’ve got to play fast. We’ve got to move the basketball. We’ve got to help each other on defense. We’ve got to do all the small things to even be competitive.”
Billups said Portland will focus on speed. The Blazers tried to emphasize it last year, but injuries thwarted those plans.
“We’ve been focusing on this year, already just with our pickup games and letting them just hoop. The biggest thing I’ve been telling them is just play fast, have fun,” Billups said.
Simons, who is one of the most experienced players on the team even though he’s just 25, was looking forward to it.
“It will be fun. Obviously, we have a young, young team that’s very athletic and can do a lot of different things. So I think us playing fast plays to our advantage,” Simons said.
The Blazers’ lone rookie on the roster is Clingan, who averaged 15.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.2 blocks for the UConn Huskies in the NCAA Tournament but admitted that the NBA is a whole new ballgame. He’ll be tutored by Ayton, who said Clingan uses his body well for a big man.
“I’m a freshman again,” the back-to-back NCAA champion said. “I’m here to learn, I’m here to get better. I gotta put in my work every single day, I gotta show I belong at this level.”
Honoring Walton
The Blazers will honor Hall of Famer Bill Walton with a tie-dye jersey band that includes Walton’s No. 32 in white.
Named the NBA Finals MVP in 1977 when he led the Blazers to their only league championship, Walton passed away in May at 71.
The team also announced on Monday that Brightside Windows, a local Portland company, would be the jersey patch sponsor for both the Blazers and the Rip City Remix, the team’s G League affiliate.
TV deal
Last season Blazers’ games were on Root Sports, a regional network owned by the Seattle Mariners. But the relationship soured last season when the channel wasn’t available to Xfinity customers without an additional fee.
The deal ended in August and last week the Blazers announced a new deal with Sinclair Broadcasting Group to show games over the air on Sinclair stations across Oregon and Washington.
The Blazers are also introducing a direct-to-consumer streaming service called BlazerVision.
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