Blazers’ Playoff Hunt Could Sabotage Their Long-Term Success

The Portland Trail Blazers are coming off their second straight victory, beating the Utah Jazz 114-112 Monday evening.

The game a little too close for comfort in the second half, but 10 of Anfernee Simon's 28 points came in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

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Portland started the season as legitimate sellers and in a rebuilding era with its young core. The entirety of the first half of the 2024-25 campaign was surrounded by rumors of which veterans would be traded, what assets they would try to get, and who would fall to them in the upcoming draft.

After a 13-28 start, and five losses in a row during a mid January skid, the young Trail Blazers kept winning.

Portland won 10 of their next 11, and the timing couldn't be worse.

The 10th game that they won of their impressive streak — their sixth in a row — happened to fall on the evening of the trade deadline.

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With no moves made to trade away bad contracts, older players that don't fit with the future of the team, and no new assets coming in, Portland chose to ride with the current roster.

The time to get their biggest return on some of their big men, especially in a time where the NBA is at an all-time-low in height down low, the front office squandered.

It is still worth mentioning that keeping the core together for the long haul to keep growing and building has its' perks, but it comes at the expense of losing out on all the potential assets in mind.

After dropping the next four games in a row after the trade deadline, Portland's playoff hopes — let alone Play-In Tournament hopes — are incresingly smaller.

The big man of the future, Duke University's Cooper Flagg, looks to be the top draft pick in 2025, but in a relatively weaker draft class compared to past years, Portland has fewer options now as a fringe playoff team in a Western Conference that has never looked better.

One of Portland's brightest young stars Scoot Henderson provided a positive quote on his team's playoff aspirations, but one that has the potential to be looked back on in disdain if the future doesn't line up the way they want it.

“We’re going for it,” Henderson said. “Every time we get on that court, we play to win … We play hard and whatever happens, happens.”

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For more news and notes on the Portland Trail Blazers, visit Portland Trail Blazers on SI.