Neil Olshey Insists Playoff Loss 'Was Not a Product' of Blazers' Roster
Damian Lillard made it perfectly clear after his team was ousted from the first round of the playoffs for fourth time in five seasons. Losing to the Denver Nuggets, playing without Jamal Murray, Will Barton and PJ Dozier, laid bare that the Trail Blazers' status quo just isn't good enough.
The offseason upheaval Lillard's season-ending presser and months of speculation portended began a day later when Portland parted ways with Terry Stotts, on the sidelines in Rip City since 2012-13. Any surefire expectation the Blazers' coaching change would be accompanied by major changes to the roster, though, could very well prove premature – at least if Neil Olshey's Monday exit interview is a sign of what's to come.
Olshey made abundantly clear on Monday that Portland will seek avenues to improve its on-court personnel this summer, especially defensively. But as he sees it, the Blazers' historically porous defense and disappointing postseason performance had little to nothing to do with the roster of players he put together.
"The first-round loss and the defensive rating at 29 was not a product of the roster," Olshey said.
Obviously, that doesn't sound like a general manager intent on the type of significant roster turnover that many believe will be the only way Lillard sniffs legitimate championship contention in Rip City.
Neither does Olshey's insistence that "80 percent of our starting lineup is under contract and returning absolutely." Needless to say, that allusion to Norman Powell's upcoming free agency doesn't exactly make it seem like Portland will finally make a concerted effort to find a trade partner for C.J. McCollum, or even kick the tires on a potential deal involving Jusuf Nurkic.
Olshey reiterated time and again that the Blazers will consider all avenues for improvement. Finding a coach who can craft a successful defense with Portland's incumbent personnel, though, is apparently much more of a priority for the front office this summer than pointedly seeking a roster overhaul that's never seemed more necessary.
"I feel good about the foundation of the roster," Olshey said. "Clearly we need to continue to find upgrades, whether it's in the starting lineup, whether it's in the bench, whether it's in terms of depth."
Olshey, an NBA veteran, always speaks in platitudes. It's prudent to never read too much into his public remarks, and let the Blazers' recent history of front-office decision-making talk for him, too.
In that vein, don't be surprised if Portland's roster next season looks much the same as it did in 2020-21. Olshey is apparently steadfast in his self-serving belief that personnel isn't the Blazers' biggest issue, and just as tellingly, hasn't ever seriously explored the type of blockbuster trade that carries with it just as much personal risk as franchise reward.