Path Blazers keep the course on rebuilding venture

Portland Path Blazers heart Deandre Ayton poses for a photograph through the NBA basketball group’s media day in Portland, Ore., Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Picture/Craig Mitchelldyer)

PORTLAND, Oregon — The Portland Path Blazers didn’t make any huge strikes within the offseason, opting as an alternative to remain heading in the right direction with a long-term rebuilding venture.

Jerami Grant, Deandre Ayton and Anfernee Simons will type the group’s nucleus as Portland continues to develop younger gamers, together with Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson.

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“I like the place we’re at with this roster, however I like the place we’re headed,” GM Joe Cronin mentioned Monday through the group’s media day.

READ: NBA: Deandre Ayton embracing contemporary begin with Path Blazers

The Blazers went 21-61 final season after buying and selling away All-Star Damian Lillard and did not make the playoffs for the third straight yr. They had been stung by accidents, with Simons, Sharpe and Henderson lacking a mixed 105 video games.

There’s little question the Blazers are a younger group. Grant, 30, is probably the most skilled with 10 years within the NBA. Ayton and Simons have six years every within the league.

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Sharpe, 21, is embarking on his third yr, whereas the 20-year-old Henderson was a rookie final yr. Each struggled with accidents, which slowed their progress. Simons injured his thumb within the season opener and required surgical procedure.

Grant led Portland with a mean of 21 factors a recreation, whereas Ayton averaged 11.1 rebounds. Henderson led the group with 5.4 assists per recreation.

Portland made its largest transfer of the season on draft day, choosing Donovan Clingan with the seventh choose. They picked up ahead Deni Avdija in July in a commerce with the Washington Wizards.

Coach Chauncey Billups was clear that he understands the place the Blazers stand within the course of and that the payoff might not come this yr.

“I simply need our guys to be linked, I need our guys to know one another, I need them to play for one another. We don’t have that go get a bucket iso man each single time. So we are able to’t afford to play that approach,” Billups mentioned. “We’ve acquired to play quick. We’ve acquired to maneuver the basketball. We’ve acquired to assist one another on protection. We’ve acquired to do all of the small issues to even be aggressive.”

READ: NBA: Damian Lillard cheered in return to Portland after commerce to Bucks

Billups mentioned Portland will give attention to pace. The Blazers tried to emphasise it final yr, however accidents thwarted these plans.

“We’ve been specializing in this yr, already simply with our pickup video games and letting them simply hoop. The largest factor I’ve been telling them is simply play quick, have enjoyable,” Billups mentioned.

Simons, who is without doubt one of the most skilled gamers on the group despite the fact that he’s simply 25, was trying ahead to it.

“It is going to be enjoyable. Clearly, we have now a younger, younger group that’s very athletic and might do a whole lot of various things. So I believe us taking part in quick performs to our benefit,” Simons mentioned.

The Blazers’ lone rookie on the roster is Clingan, who averaged 15.3 factors, 8.3 rebounds and three.2 blocks for the UConn Huskies within the NCAA Event however admitted that the NBA is a complete new ballgame. He’ll be tutored by Ayton, who mentioned Clingan makes use of his physique properly for an enormous man.

“I’m a freshman once more,” the back-to-back NCAA champion mentioned. “I’m right here to be taught, I’m right here to get higher. I gotta put in my work each single day, I gotta present I belong at this stage.”

Honoring Walton

The Blazers will honor Corridor of Famer Invoice Walton with a tie-dye jersey band that features Walton’s No. 32 in white.

Named the NBA Finals MVP in 1977 when he led the Blazers to their solely league championship, Walton handed away in Could at 71.

READ: Invoice Walton, Corridor of Fame participant, dies of most cancers at 71

The group additionally introduced on Monday that Brightside Home windows, an area Portland firm, can be the jersey patch sponsor for each the Blazers and the Rip Metropolis Remix, the group’s G League affiliate.

TV deal
Final season Blazers’ video games had been on Root Sports activities, a regional community owned by the Seattle Mariners. However the relationship soured final season when the channel wasn’t out there to Xfinity clients with out an extra price.

The deal led to August and final week the Blazers introduced a brand new cope with Sinclair Broadcasting Group to indicate video games over the air on Sinclair stations throughout Oregon and Washington.

The Blazers are additionally introducing a direct-to-consumer streaming service referred to as BlazerVision.