The Portland Trail Blazers finished last season with the worst record in the Western Conference at 21-61. There’s reason for optimism that they may improve their record in the upcoming 2024-25 season, including a healthier overall roster, the additions of Deni Avdija and Donovan Clingan, and internal improvements from up-and-coming players like Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe. But more likely than not, these improvements won’t be significant enough to get the Blazers out of the bottom tier of Western Conference teams.
Blazers Looking Ahead To 2025 NBA Draft
The Blazers are intentionally positioning themselves as ‘likely tankers’ for next season, per ESPN’s Zach Lowe (subscription required). Lowe mentions that the “Blazers will be bad by design ahead of a loaded 2025 draft headlined by Cooper Flagg.”
Next season is still significant for the Blazers as they rebuild. They still need to find out what exactly Henderson and Sharpe are and whether or not they should be considered the faces of their rebuild. It will also be essential to figure out who should be regarded as part of their long-term core and whether they decide to move more established players like Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, and Deandre Ayton, among others. But from a record and competing for a playoff spot standpoint, all indications are that it will be another long season for Portland.
Chauncey Billups On The Hot Seat Entering 2024-25 Season
The current state of the Blazers’ roster begs an important question: If the Blazers are tanking next season for a better draft pick, isn’t it contradictory that head coach Chauncey Billups is reportedly on the hot seat? According to John Hollinger of The Athletic, Billups is one of three head coaches, along with Memphis Grizzlies’ Taylor Jenkins and New Orleans Pelicans’ Willie Green, who are on the hot seat entering next season.
Blazers Setting Billups Up For Lose-Lose Situation
The ‘hot seat’ is a formality in some aspects, and the Blazers may have already determined that Billups isn’t their long-term answer as the head coach. They are setting him up for a lose-lose situation entering the 2024-25 season. Being a rebuilding team with a coach on the hot seat is conflicting. If you win too many games, you go against the direction the franchise wants, but if you lose too many, the team may go a different direction with its head coach.
The Grizzlies and Pelicans are both competitive teams trying to make the playoffs next year after having relatively down seasons, so it makes sense for their coaches to be on the hot seats. It would be more fair if the Blazers’ organization were on the same page with Billups and their objectives and expectations for next season aligned. After all, Billups wasn’t expecting to join a rebuilding Blazers team in the first place. They need to come to a mutual understanding that the Blazers want to get a top prospect in the 2025 NBA Draft. They shouldn’t factor in how many games Billups wins as long as he gives the young players significant minutes and they show encouraging signs of development.
Once the Blazers finally accelerate their rebuild, add veteran pieces, and actively try to win, they should start evaluating Billups’ season on a win-loss basis. But he could be in the final year of his contract, as the Blazers have a team option for the 2025-26 season. The writing may be on the wall for Billups’ time in Portland. It all depends on what they expect from him this season.
