Blazers are open to trades

The Portland Trail Blazers have a lot to be positive about, but at 19-15 on the season, Blazers general manager Neil Olshey says his team isn’t afraid to make a deal around the February 21st trade deadline, especially if the move fits into the team’s long-term plan.

“We’ve said from the beginning it’s going to be a process,” Olshey told HOOPSWORLD at this week’s D-League Showcase in Reno. “I think right now from a record stand point, we’re a little bit ahead of where we thought we were going to be. A lot of that is due to Terry [Stotts] and the development of some of our younger guy. But look, we’re going to stay with our philosophy which is if we can find a deal that moves the needle on a long-term basis, we’re going to be as active as anybody, but we’re not going to take incremental moves that take away our long-term flexibility.”

Olshey, like most of the league, is looking at all of his

options, which includes players not in the NBA and part of the D-League.

“There aren’t that many generalists in our league,” explained Olshey. “You have 25 or 30 guys who are gifted enough to do everything, and you look at guys who bring something to the table whether it’s rebounding, blocking shots, handling the ball, defensive pressure, whatever it happens to be. I think when you come down to an event like this you’re really looking for if you have a hole on your roster, is there someone here with a skill that can fill it?”

“A lot of guys get caught up in numbers thinking, if they go get 28 or 30 [points], it’s going to change people’s minds. Really what we’re looking for, or at least what I am, is translatable skills. It doesn’t matter if I’m going to bring a guy in that isn’t a range shooter and he happens to make three’s that day. I want to see guys that I know if we bring them in on a 10-day [contract] they can provide something to our roster that’s missing, and guys just need to be who they are and be the best player they can be within their skill set.”

The Blazers have solved a number of issues this year with the drafting of Rookie of the Year frontrunner Damian Lillard and the re-signing of Nicolas Batum to a long-term contract. Both players have really exceeded expectations.

“I think that’s what we were hoping for when we drafted Damian,” Olshey said of Lillard’s dominating success. “We knew we were going to hand him the ball on day one, and that’s why we didn’t bring any good point guards that would compete for minutes with him. It’s a lot of what we saw, and again we get back to translatable skills. Things you saw at Weber State he’s translating easier probably than we thought to the NBA at this point.”

The Blazers’ matched the four-year, $46 million offer sheet Minnesota gave to then restricted free agent Nicolas Batum and are seeing the kind of results they had hoped for.

“I think Nicolas has a lot of his best basketball ahead of him,” Olshey explained of Batum’s recent surge. “I think Terry is the right coach for him. I think Terry gives him the opportunity to be more versatile. For awhile he was kind of a spot up three-point shooter and defensive lock-down guy, and you see his assists are going through the roof. He’s second only to LeBron [James] among forwards in the league. He’s rebounding at a higher rate and he’s making plays for other people, which we’re pleased about.”

The Blazers are also pleased with their first-year head coach Terry Stotts. Stotts was an improbable hire at the time, but the Blazers like the direction the team is going under him.

“Terry has been terrific,” Olshey said. “I think we took a unique approach. We filled out the roster first and then found a coach we thought best suited our roster. And look, from the development of Damian Lillard and Meyers Leonard at this point. Our veterans that have excelled; Wesley Matthews and Batum are having career years. LaMarcus [Aldridge] is at or above his career numbers. We’re getting great performances out of J.J. Hickson, who was a guy on the waiver wire 12 months ago, and now he’s averaging a double-double. I think he’s fourth or fifth in the League in rebounding. Terry has a unique ability to bring out the best out in his team by empowering them and giving them the flexibility to do what they do well and he’s a coach that supports their strengths and then works with them on their weaknesses. He coaches from a positive, and he embraces what they do and he gives them the freedom to do it.”

If the season ended today the Trail Blazers would be the seventh seed in the West. Olshey and the Blazers are not looking for superficial changes, but made it clear that if the right kind of deal surfaces between now and the trade deadline that can move the franchise forward, he is ready to make a move.

The problem facing Portland is that the guys that have been powering their success are the players they’d want to hang on to, meaning any trades or changes to the roster are likely coming from the role players at the end of the bench and those personalities may not return nearly as much as Olshey would like to add.