Paul Millsap, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The Portland Trail Blazers cannot afford to run it back. Damian Lillard has made it clear that he does not believe that the roster as currently constructed is talented enough to help him compete for a title. He’s also suggested that if the Blazers brass doesn’t take steps to substantially upgrade the team, he’ll be forced to ask for a trade.
Portland doesn’t have the luxury of just gunning for a max contract player in free agency; they don’t have the cap space, or the means to create enough, to do so.