That feel when
08-30-2015, 10:01 AM
Portland Trail Blazers plummet back into irrelevance after losing LaMarcus AldridgeThe Portland Trail Blazers can no longer depend on that feathery but deadly midrange jumper from LaMarcus Aldridge, those bow-and-arrow, three-point celebrations from marksman Wesley Matthews, the defensive versatility of Nicolas Batum or the untamed play and mane of mascot-mocking Robin Lopez. They still have an electrifying two-time all-star in Damian Lillard, but four-fifths of the starting lineup responsible for back-to-back 50-win seasons exited last summer, forcing a playoff contender to suddenly fall back into irrelevance in the unforgiving Western Conference.
In the absence of so many familiar faces, namely a franchise anchor for nearly nine years in Aldridge, the Trail Blazers have been thrust into a project that is more like a redirection than a rebuild. They aren’t exactly starting over, since they were already transitioning toward their current foundation, Lillard. But the initial results will at times be galling as General Manager Neil Olshey has invested in more uncertainty with intriguing but unproven talent.
In the absence of so many familiar faces, namely a franchise anchor for nearly nine years in Aldridge, the Trail Blazers have been thrust into a project that is more like a redirection than a rebuild. They aren’t exactly starting over, since they were already transitioning toward their current foundation, Lillard. But the initial results will at times be galling as General Manager Neil Olshey has invested in more uncertainty with intriguing but unproven talent.