While I’m sure Joe and The Cronies would rather their rebuild clock have started when Dame Time finally ended, a much more compelling case can be made that this is actually season 4. Re-tooling is rebuilding, especially since the “re-tooling” for Portland began with their 2nd best player, CJ McCollum, being traded. Their Paul George to Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, if you will.
The difference being, OKC jettisoned both George and Westbrook during the 2019 offseason. Whereas, the Trail Blazers’ front office opted to take a more staggered approach, trading CJ a couple of days before the 2022 trade deadline, then Damian Lillard just before the start of the 2023-24 NBA Season.
Ironically, the Thunder did a bit of “re-tooling” themselves; they just didn’t go to the same lengths to mask their intentions.
But before we get to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s “re-tooling”, let’s first compare their and the Blazers records in years 1 – 4 of their rebuilds.
| Oklahoma City Thunder | Portland Trail Blazers | |
| Year 1 | 44-28 (2019-20) | 27-55 (2021-22) |
| Year 2 | 22-50 (2020-21) | 33-49 (2022-23) |
| Year 3 | 24-58 (2021-22) | 21-61 (2023-24) |
| Year 4 | 40-42 (2022-23) | 8-18 (2024-25) |
In year 1 of the Oklahoma City rebuild, Chris Paul rebuilt his value in his only season with OKC, which strongly correlated to the team’s impressive and surprising record. I think the Portland Trail Blazers were hoping for a similar result in their first year (referring to it as a re-tooling), but Lillard only played in 29 games that season (2021-22) due to a core muscle injury.
By the end of year 4 (2022-23), the Thunder had returned to respectability, especially considering they played the entire season without the 2022 2nd overall pick, Chet Holmgren. He missed his rookie season with a foot injury.
Portland, conversely, has fallen off the Oklahoma City Thunder’s pace, most closely resembling a rudderless ship at times, looking both hapless and helpless.
The difference?
It’s all about the players, just as it has been with any team in the NBA’s history. So, we’re going to compare these two teams from the ground up, looking specifically at their cornerstone/foundational players.
The MVP Candidate(s)
In year 4 of Oklahoma City’s rebuild, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) made the leap into full-fledged stardom. He was/is a legitimate MVP candidate. In 2022-23, Shai was anything but, with averages of 31.4 pts on 51% shooting, including 0.9 3pm on a 3P% of 34.5%, 5.5 ast, 4.8 reb, 1.6 stl, & 1 blk.
What Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t doing was settling for 3s. Except in his rookie year, when he averaged 1.7 3PA, he attempted a career-low of 2.5 3s in this breakout season. He was playing downhill, putting constant pressure on defenses with a career-high 10.9 FTs, making 90.5%. He was nearly a double-figure scorer just from the free throw line, making 9.8/gm.
In short, SGA was absurdly good! More than deserving of his first All-NBA 1st Team selection.
Before this season (year 4 of the Portland Trail Blazers rebuild), Portland’s best player, Anfernee Simons, was the logical choice to be their SGA. I am nothing if not realistic (my brother Travis may even say a tad pessimistic).
So, the best I hoped for was Simons being SGA-lite, pushing the boundaries of All-Stardom. I even advocated for the Trail Blazers to pair their present and future together by starting Anfernee (“Penny”) Simons and Scoot Henderson in their backcourt. To the shock of many, myself included, Simons was given the car keys and became the PG Designate, with Scoot as his backup.
Man, I was excited, as I’d long thought point guard would be the clearest route for Anfernee to reach his ceiling. But, boy, oh boy, is he off to a rough start! To the tune of 17.2 pts on 41% shooting, including 2.5 3pm on a career-low 3P% of 32.9%, 4.6 ast, 2.7 rebs, & 0.9 stl over 23 games.
A not-so-fun-fact, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Simons were drafted the same year (2018). Not fun cause Anfernee Simons has obviously fallen way behind Shai’s pace.
Do I still think Anfernee has it in him to be SGA-lite, to be a borderline All-Star?
Yes, but the Blazers’ rebuild can no longer depend on Simons becoming their SGA. Luckily for them, though, there is an in-house candidate who could potentially take up this mantle.
If SGA is Sherlock Holmes, then it’s “Elementary [his]dear Watson” was/is…
Jalen Williams [pre–Slim Reaper – Chet Holmgren, who, again, missed the entirety of year 4 (2022-23) of OKC’s rebuild.]
J-Will put the league on notice his rookie season after the All-Star break with averages of 18.6 points on 54.6% shooting, including 1.2 3pm on a 3P% of 42.9%, 5.4 reb, 4.3 ast, and 1.7 stl. Just what Doctor Watson ordered!
This now seems to be the role, that of Dr. Watson, that Anfernee Simons may be best suited.
So then, on whom do the Portland Trail Blazers Sherlock Holmes hopes rest?
None other than Shaedon Sharpe.
Just earlier this season, he demonstrated he has the makings of a Bonafide star. He had a mini-breakout over a stretch of just 4 games from 11/12 – 11/20, hinting at his crazy high potential. His production was eye-popping: 25.75 pts on 48% shooting, including 3.25 3pm on a 3P% of 41.9%, 3.75 reb, 2.75 ast, & 1.5 stl.
Rather impressively, Portland also won 3 of these 4 games, only losing to the Thunder on 11/20, who continue to have the Trail Blazers number:
Despite this small sample size, I still think the only thing keeping Shaedon from reaching his sky-high ceiling is health. For him, the best ability will undoubtedly be availability.
A kicker should be noted, though. During Sharpe’s stretch of dominance, Simons only played 5 minutes of the first game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on 11/12.
So, this begs the question, does a starting backcourt of Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe lend itself to both players maximizing their abilities? Or will one’s high-level play be at the expense of the other? Hopefully, by season’s end, we’ll at least have the answer to this question.
An interesting sidebar to this question, more questions: Might Scoot Henderson be the key to unlocking Shaedon’s potential? Might Scoot’s skill set be more complementary to Sharpe’s? Just throwing this out there for you to chew on.
Will the 3rd spoke of these rebuilds “Please Stand Up”!
The Real Slim [Reaper] did so for the Oklahoma City Thunder in year 5 of their rebuild last season, while Josh Giddey, once a spoke, fell way out of favor. And by way out, I mean traded, to the Bulls this offseason.
Who will step up for the Blazers as Chet Holmgren has for Oklahoma City?
Will it be Scoot Henderson, or will he go the way of Josh Giddey?
Will it be Donovan Clingan or a combination of him and Scoot?
Or will it be whoever the Portland Trail Blazers land in this upcoming draft?
And herein lies what truly separates Portland from OKC. The Thunder have their answers player-wise, whereas all the Trail Blazers seem to have are questions.
The Blazers obviously do not measure up to the Oklahoma City Thunder in any way, shape, or form unless you do some serious stretching of the truth or rely solely on projection, as I’ve done with Shaedon Sharpe.
If Sharpe can’t stay healthy, the Portland Trail Blazers rebuild will be seriously jeopardized!
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