This summer the Portland Trail Blazers have traded for a fallen All Star guard, re-signed an incumbent center and signed two end-of-the-bench bigs. Aside from the return of Robert Williams III, the front office’s decisions can, at best, be described as bemusing and, at worst, concerning.
While some might consider the addition of Ja Morant an intriguing flyer, I have some issues with the move and how it works with this roster, which now includes five backcourt players in need of rotation minutes. More
than that, Morant’s arrival fails to address the 2025-26 incarnation of this team’s biggest issue, a lack of shooting.
In his April postseason interview General Manager Joe Cronin claimed the team needed more shooting if it was going to have a chance to compete at the highest level.
From a skillset perspective, the Spurs series showed us, and really the whole season, that we don’t shoot the ball well enough. Shooting is something we knew we were somewhat deficient in and it’s something that we tried to address a little bit at the trade deadline with (Vit) Krejci. Something that Dame will definitely help with but it’s still a need moving forward. We played a lot of possessions in the mud where it was a crowded paint for our attackers, specifically Deni, Jrue, Scoot, like they just didn’t have a lot of room to operate and teams guarded us a certain way knowing that we were really good at the rim and not good on the perimeter and offensively that just created issues for us throughout the season, highlighted by high turnover rate and low shooting percentages.
He wasn’t wrong, the Blazers were tied for the league’s third worst three-point record last season with a paltry 34.3 percent and were dead last from the corner at 33.8 percent. The Blazers were also second last to the New Orleans Pelicans from the midrange, hitting 38.4 percent.
Astonishingly, Jerami Grant, who was traded to get Morant, was the Blazers rotation’s best three point shooter on decent volume, hitting 38.9 percent from the arc. He now plays for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Lillard will, of course, boost the Blazers’ three-point rate but he alone won’t be able to lift the roster from third worst into a more respectable ranking. The Blazers need multiple threats from long range to not only hit shots but to also stretch opposing defenses.
Any future additions need to be able to shoot and also defend at the two forward positions. This team has already got its share of defensive liabilities in Lillard, Morant, Shaedon Sharpe and, to a lesser extent, Scoot Henderson. If a shooter doesn’t fulfill the bill on the defensive side of the ball, he should not get onto the court, if we’re to believe the credo of new Head Coach Micah Nori, making any three point ability moot.
The Offseason
As mentioned, the Blazers have brought in a career 31.1 percent three-point shooter in Ja Morant, as the only real rotation player while losing Jerami Grant, a career 36.7 percent long range shooter.
Morant won Most Improved Player in 2021-22, while finishing seventh in MVP voting that same year. But even then, the best he shot from beyond the arc was 34.4 percent. A healthy Morant thrives on his athleticism and getting to the rim, a strategy he’ll struggle with if the Blazers aren’t able to spread the floor.
The two recent signings in Branden Carlsen and Micah Potter are fringe rotation players at best. While the latter shot above 40 percent with the tanking Indiana Pacers last season, I’d be concerned if he got real rotation minutes in Portland.
But the offseason can still be salvagable. While there are no real shooters left on the free agent market, the Blazers still have the assets to go after two-way decent shooting forwards via trade. Last week, I wrote about the benefits of trading for Trey Murphy III. The Pelicans forward ticks all boxes for this Blazers squad however, it’ll probably take a decent return for New Orleans to be willing to part with him.
There are other targets who fit the requirement for forward three-point shooting while also boasting at least adequate defense. Whether they’re attainable remains to be seen.
The Dallas Mavericks’ PJ Washington had a down year from beyond that arc last season but has proven he can be a reliable source of points from three. The appealing part of Washington’s game is his ability to put the ball on the floor and defend across multiple positions. He’s shown he can shoot upwards of 38 percent from three when he’s not encumbered by playing making responsibilities.
The Houston Rockets Jabari Smith Jr. would be a dream for this squad, last season shooting a perfectly fine 36.3 percent on 6.3 three point attempts a game. The former number three overall pick thrives on the defensive side of the ball, potentially giving this team versatility at both ends. However, the Blazers might need to part with a pick or two to snag the 23-year-old.
The Brooklyn Nets’ Michael Porter Jr., while expensive, is on an expiring deal and has served as a championship-level forward with the Denver Nuggets. The big forward boasts passable defense and a three point shot that topped out out at 41.4 percent the year he and the Colorado franchise won the title.
Conclusion
The Blazers publicly made shooting a priority this offseason. But their actions have not followed suit. Ja Morant is the only new rotation player on the roster and while his best was spectacular, he was never one to hit the three at a regular clip.
While I have no doubt Damian Lillard will improve this team’s spacing and three point percentage, Cronin himself has acknowledged it won’t be enough to get the roster to acceptable levels. Cronin’s front office has largely been passable but the fact that they’ve yet failed to deliver on this one issue this summer, is frustrating.
The offseason is far from finished but if the Blazers go into opening night with roster as it stands, I have some serious concerns about how it will be able to maxmize the strengths of the talent on the roster.
