The Trail Blazers will field an experienced starting five for the 2018-19 regular season. Outside of that starting group, Portland will be dependent on a thin crop of players to fill important roles. For the Blazers to advance past their status as fringe Western Conference competitors, they will need a handful of their unheralded players to quickly learn on the fly.
Blazer’s Edge contributor Ryne Buchanan suggested the Portland treat next year as a development year with his post yesterday. Today, I propose what needs to happen for the Blazers to enjoy the best of both worlds: development that leads to immediate contributions to a winning team.