Portland Trail Blazers- Grade: A
Additions:
- Scoot Henderson
- Rayan Rupert
- Kris Murray
Losses:
- Damian Lillard
No, Lillard hasn’t technically been traded, but it is 75% or so he won’t play for the Trail Blazers if on the roster. The issue is that he only wants to be in Miami but Portland has no interest in Tyler Herro and a few more random pieces. The clubs need a third team. As for the rest of the Trail Blazers’ offseason, they nailed the draft and found a franchise player in Henderson. They also gave more than $30 million dollars per season to a 29-year-old forward, when they should be rebuilding and really need to move Lillard, so their offseason can’t be called a W.
Signings:
- Matisse Thybulle- Grade: B
- Jerami Grant- Grade: C
Trades:
- Damian Lillard- Grade: B
Blazers’ 2023 NBA Draft – Grade: A
- No. 3: Scoot Henderson, G, USA
- No. 23: Kris Murray, PF, Iowa
- No. 43: Rayan Rupert, G, France
Ed. Note – Written draft night The Blazers need to choose who to build around, Lillard or Henderson, as it just makes no sense when it comes to age and talent to keep the two. Regardless, Henderson was my second-rated player in the 2023 NBA Draft, so I love the pick because he could be a superstar. He’s a physical freak of nature and could be a 20-5-5 guy as a rookie. Murray was one of college’s stars last season, averaging 20-8, and is a talented shooter at 6-foot-8. He probably should be an NBA four and could start.
I had Rupert ranked as a near-lottery pick, so he was the steal of the draft. Rupert is already an ace defender and has elite three-and-d talent. I liked him more than fellow Frenchman Bilal Coulibaly, who went seventh and ended up with the Wizards. To me, the Trail Blazers drafted a franchise player, a potential strong starting two guard and power forward. Grading their draft class was an easy A.
