Of 11 rebuilding NBA teams, ESPN’s [Tim Bontemps (subscription needed) ranked the Portland Trail Blazers 10th](https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/44317025/nba-rebuild-rankings-where-spurs-nets-blazers-more-check-in#por). The rankings were based on each teams’ “rebuilding strategy and path to contention,” and was not a judgement of the teams’ current rosters:
> **The strategy:** Since moving on from Damian Lillard 18 months ago, it has been difficult to discern the overall strategy for Portland, especially after a 21-61 season to kick off the post-Lillard era. The Blazers got a haul of draft picks and players back in the Lillard and Jrue Holiday deals and they added promising young forward Toumani Camara from the Phoenix Suns as part of the price of getting Deandre Ayton out of Phoenix. But trading a lottery pick and another future pick last offseason for Deni Avdija, who has played well in Portland, was a win-now move — not a rebuilding one. Still having the likes of Ayton, Jerami Grant, Robert Williams III and Anfernee Simons on the roster is also hard to square with where this team is sitting, as is the fact the Blazers have little cap flexibility for at least another season.
Quibbling with the characterization of trading for a then-23-year-old Avdija on a super bargain contract as a “win-now move,” it is indeed tough to figure why Portland has so many veterans outside of the market just not being there at the deadline. True as that may be, we are now seeing exactly why that could be an issue (perhaps only with Simons, who of the four named vets has been the only one playing as of late): the Blazers could lose their first-round pick if they play too well. And given the tankiest teams are tanking harder than the Blazers this year after Portland practically wrote the book on losing end-of-season games the last few seasons, it’s at best going to result in a worse lottery pick and could at worst result in no pick at all.
Bontemps continues:
> **Is it working?** Portland winning a bunch of games over the past few weeks could be taken as a sign of things moving in the right direction. But by doing so, Portland has moved out of the top 10 spots in the draft lottery, likely preventing this group from adding another high-level player. Henderson has improved and Clingan has had a fine rookie year patrolling the paint, but it’s fair to wonder whether Portland’s next foundational player is currently on this roster.
>
> **Estimated return to relevance:** Portland established itself over the back half of the season as a legitimately sound defensive team. But it’s going to take a lot more than that to climb up the West standings. Right now, it’s unclear how the talent boost is going to arrive.
Two things I thought deserved more mention in his analysis:
### **The Blazers have pretty strong net positive draft capital.**
They own the Milwaukee Bucks’ draft from 2028 to 2030 either outright or through swaps, an unprotected Boston Celtics first in 2029, and a spattering of second rounders. The problem: even if all of those picks hit - which is far from likely, let alone certain - it would be years before those players would be good enough to factor.
### **They could still trade their veterans.**
And, in fact, they almost certainly will trade at least some of them, and the return may help spark some rebuilding sooner than the next decade. The problem: there is no guarantee that the market that was so unfavorable to Cronin last time will get better this offseason.
If your rebuilding horizon is a decade out, there is less to worry about. But when comparing Portland to other teams who may have cleaner paths to contention in the 2020-somethings, it’s hard to say the Blazers look much better than second-to-last.
The San Antonio Spurs were first on ESPN’s list of rebuilding teams, and the Chicago Bulls were behind the Blazers in dead last.