The Portland Trail Blazers struck out big time in this year’s free agency period when they lost LaMarcus Aldridge, Robin Lopez and Wesley Matthews, and failed to adequately replace all three players. There is no doubt that the deal Mathews received from the Dallas Mavericks wasn’t worth matching but Aldridge and Lopez are two key pieces that will be sorely missed.
Suddenly, the Blazers go from being a rising contender to looking like a team most likely to miss out on the playoffs. Portland did acquire some young bodies that could pan out in the long. We’ll see if it works out for but now, they are hoping that one of their young prospects emerge:
Gerald Henderson
Shooting Guard
Henderson is a former first-round pick that showed flashes for the Charlotte Hornets but ultimately failed to live up to their expectations. He’s the oldest of the bunch (27 years old) but he gets another opportunity to prove himself in Portland this season. Henderson averaged 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists for the Hornets last season but he has never been an elite scorer and the fact that he doesn’t shoot the three well has always been a major detriment. But in fairness to him, he played on a lousy Charlotte team that didn’t do much. He wasn’t surrounded with quality coaching or talent. Henderson was a key cog for a couple of contending Duke teams and with the right situation, he could prove to be more valuable than he was in Charlotte.
Mason Plumlee
Forward
It might not make up for the losses of Lopez and Aldridge, but at least Portland looked ahead when they traded for Plumlee as a potential key big man for them moving forward. The former first-round pick averaged 8.7 points and 6.8 rebounds for the Brooklyn Nets last season and the hope is that he can take another step in the right direction heading in to his third NBA season. We saw glimpses of what he’s capable of when he had a clear path to minutes, averaging 13.5 points and 7.3 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 steals in January and 12.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 blocks in December.
Plumlee has all of the physical tools to develop in to a solid NBA starter for but he will have a much more difficult time banging with some of the game’s best in the Western Conference. The Blazers are hoping that he can soften the blow of Aldridge’s departure.
Noah Vonleh
Power Forward
Another former first-round pick of the Hornets that will hope to carve out a role with the Trail Blazers is the 6’10’’, 240-pound forward Vonleh. He averaged just 3.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game in 25 appearances for Charlotte a year ago but Portland likes his combination of size and strength. As mentioned, Charlotte has mishandled the development of a number of players and Vonleh is just the latest. It’s entirely possible that he is a complete bust – as he looked last season – but what’s more likely is that Charlotte quit on the 19-year-old way too soon. He was drafted ninth overall last season and now Portland picks him up for pennies on the dollar. With the right tutelage, it’s possible he’s the Aldridge replacement in a couple of season’s time.
Moe Harkless
Small Forward
The Trail Blazers traded a future second-round pick to acquire Harkless from the Orlando Magic and the hope is that the 15th overall pick from the 2012 NBA Draft can carve out a role of the bench in Portland. The obvious criticism is that he never lived up to his potential in Orlando but the upside is that he is still just 22 years old and he has shown flashes despite lacking consistency with the Magic over the years. The Magic have been a mess and have done a poor job of developing players. Harkless is a high-upside, low-risk investment and is definitely worth more than just a second-round pick. If he gets regular minutes, he should develop into a nice piece.
