NO TEAM ARRIVES at the crossroads the Portland Trail Blazers face now because of a single recent decision -- in this case Portland using the No. 3 pick on Scoot Henderson instead of trading the pick to appease Damian Lillard.
The Blazers' front office was sincere in its belief it could straddle two paths -- take Henderson, and work trades and free agency to build a competitive team around Lillard. It would be hard, and require luck. For Lillard, the odds of success were too long. That was a fair conclusion, too.