After being eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in the second round of the 2016 Western Conference playoffs, the Trail Blazers knew they had a few key deficiencies that needed to be addressed. Rim protection was one, resulting in the signing of free agent center Festus Ezeli, who, by some measurements, was one of the most effective paint defenders in the NBA last season.
The other, and perhaps the more pressing, was ball handing and playmaking. While much of the roster made strides in that area during the course of the season, it became rather apparent that of the players in Terry Stotts’ rotation, only Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum could be relied upon to regularly deal with the pressure that comes with being your team’s primary ball handler.