Even though the Portland Trail Blazers are 10 games under .500, the notion of tanking remains a foreign one. That record is good enough for ninth place in the Western Conference, a mere 2.5 games behind the eighth-place Denver Nuggets.
Sure, the Blazers win a first-round date and exit against the Golden State Warriors or San Antonio Spurs (they’re coming) if they erase that gap. But they won’t chase losses, or deemphasize chasing wins, just to avoid an early departure. Damian Lillard made this much clear following Portland’s Thursday night win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, per CSNNW.com’s Jason Quick:
After scoring 33 points and leading the Blazers to a 114-109 victory over playoff-bound Oklahoma City, captain Damian Lillard made clear which option he, and Neil Olshey — the organization’s top executive — chose in the equation.
“Neil always tells us ‘Players first,’’’ Lillard said. “And he’s been true to that since I’ve been here. So I don’t see why he would come to us and say, basically, ‘Pack it in.’ He knows our character, and who we are.’’
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Lillard, who has battled plantar fasciitis and a sprained left ankle, said he will never take part in that practice.
“I’m not sitting out,’’ Lillard said. “We have an opportunity to make the playoffs and I’m going to play until that opportunity is gone, and then I’m still going to play. We have a whole summer until the next season, so I’m going to play.’’
Adding a high draft pick to this core would be huge, but yours truly sides with Dame here. The Blazers have three first-round selections in this year’s draft and are more likely to broker trades for impact players than bring in someone they need to groom long term.
Besides, out-tanking the Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers is pretty much impossible at this point. Throw in the Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers and the league-worst Brooklyn Nets, and the Blazers’ ceiling on their basement is the sixth-worst record—and that’s assuming the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic don’t get the itch to plunge.
If this was a matter of finishing with one of the NBA’s three, or even five, worst records, fine. The Blazers’ brass, not Lillard, has to consider it. But those positions aren’t realistically up for grabs. So the team might as well allow Lillard and crew to chase wins.
