Hello BEdge, here I go again with a thought exercise I already did some seasons ago: I'll propose some nice growth scenarios (a dreamy one and a "realistic" one) and ask you guys which player has the best chance to fullfil either of them. Of course some players may regress or even get injured (knock on wood), but save McColum and maybe Turner I'd say each and every Trailblazer from last two seasons are always evolving - some more than others.
Hope you guys enjoy and help me on this, I was very happy with the feedback on 2015s version, and also happy that some of those scenarios went exactly as I "predicted" (at the end of the season) so here it goes:
1- Damian Lillard (all-NBA, franchise player)
> Dream Scenario:Lillard solidifies his defense even more, keeps his All-NBA 1st team status and is a top3 MVP contender for realz, having a Harden-esque year on offense while also directing the team at PG.
> Cool Scenario:He keeps his All-NBA 1st team status and produces as last year, while not getting injured
2- CJ McColum (star, unquestionable starter)
> Dream Scenario:CJ rises above his already magnificend 2016-2017 season, and goes to the All-Star game as Portland campaign is on a hot streak. His defense solidifies even more and he's happy on his role doing 20PPG+
> Cool Scenario:He keeps up his defense, returns to his efficient form and focuses on scoring while others distrubute
3- Jusuf Nurkic (rising young player, starter)
> Dream Scenario:Nurk Fever gets the Blazers by storm, while Nurkic overpowers his opponents and mans the middle, having efficient scoring day while not trying to be fancy, owning slow centers and covering well for agile ones
> Cool Scenario:He keeps maturing and being better defensively, while not trying too much on offense and focusing on being just efficient and opportunistic, which opens more scoring opportunities for everyone
4- Aminu (proven vet, starter)
> Dream Scenario:Aminu rises to national recognition as a great Forward who can cover at Center, and makes Portland undeniably "need" him and start to wonder how much he'll cost for next season
> Cool Scenario:He defends as last season (maybe a second team all-defense nod?) and keeps shooting the 3 ball well, also being an oportunistic scorer, just steady development on his already nice skills
5- Moe Harkless (starter)
> Dream Scenario:莫成为推动开拓者的火,发射g full-on effort on defense, while just shooting 3's and being opportunistic on offense (mostly cutting, backdooring), being an unquestionable starter
> Cool Scenario:He can keep focused and bring his effort every game, since he already has the tools to defend and do some damage offensively too. "good Moe" every night = great Blazers
6- Evan Turner (bench captain, veteran)
> Dream Scenario:ET shuts critics, being the de facto ball handler in every bench unit, dazzling with his decision making and offense directing, while bailing us out cutting inside or at the mid-range at the end of possessions
> Cool Scenario:If Turner can contribute to steady our bench rotation, giving serviceable wing-defense and ball handling duties, then that's already way better than last season (and what we "expect" from him, also what his Boston days were like)
7- Seth Curry (bench scorer)
> Dream Scenario:Curry returns to prime Mavericks form, shooting lights out while not being overrun on defense. Suddenly we have a "problem" on our hands: how can we retain such a find?
> Cool Scenario:He isn't affected by his injury and can shoot 40%+ from three, also giving some ballhandling from the bench
8- Nik Stauskas (bench scorer)
> Dream Scenario:As well as some other Blazers reclamation projects, if Stauskas can be versatile, shoot well from 3 and provide ANY defense, then we already have a nice find
> Cool Scenario:Be serviceable, hit some 3s, don't get exposed.. Much like PatCon last season
9- Zach Collins (young project, first big off the bench)
> Dream Scenario:The masked man proves to be stater-worthy (even challenging Aminu for the PF spot), develops a semblance of offense and covers bigs as wel as any other PF/C in the league
> Cool Scenario:Zach continues to steadily develop and brings serviceable and interchangeable minutes as the first big off the bench, while giving us some nice surprises on offense
10- Meyers Leonard (our own reclamation project?)
> Dream Scenario:He returns to his 50/40/90 days, on limited attempts, while also not being exposed on defense.. 10MPG or so, pushing to 15 when needed, would be nice
> Cool Scenario:Meyers doesn't screw up even more.
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All ofTrent Jr, Anfernee Simmons, Swanigan, Baldwin and Laymanaren't expected (by me) to have any meaningful minutes to start the season, so IF they press the issue to get the minutes, then that's already a GREAT sign (barring injury or inconsistencies on these top-10 rotation guys). From those, I'd expect Baldwin to maybe get a shot, and Layman for his positional flexibility, but still we won't need to sub in any of them if the team is clicking.
What do you guys think? Is my "cool scenario" within reality, and which player has the biggest chance to reach his "dream scenario" as proposed?
