Most Glaring Roster Hole the Blazers Must Address This Offseason

The Portland Trail Blazers have seen clear improvement on the roster, but they still have some aspects they need to upgrade going into next season.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe warms up before game four of the first round. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

The Portland Trail Blazers should be happy about ending a five-year playoff drought and qualifying as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference this year, but they should not be satisfied.

There are many ways in which the Blazers can improve upon their 41-41 campaign, most notably when it comes to the team's three-point shooting. The Blazers ranked 27th out of 30 in terms of three-point percentage this past season. Only the Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings and Brooklyn Nets shot worse from downtown.

If the Blazers don't get better from shooting beyond the arc, their ceiling will be limited.

Blazers Need Better 3-Point Shooting

Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija shoots for three. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Out of the eight teams that made it further than the Blazers in the playoffs, only the Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers shot below league average. The San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers were in the top half of teams in terms of 3-point shooting.

The Blazers should invest in some low-risk, high-reward options when it comes to shooting, especially knowing their top scorer in Deni Avdija shot a dismal 31.8 percent from beyond the arc this past season. If Avdija is going to have the ball in his hands often, the Blazers need to surround him with shooters to make him more effective.

They Can't Only Rely on Damian Lillard

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard celebrates with the trophy after winning the three point contest. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Blazers will get a massive boost in the 3-point shooting department with the return of Damian Lillard to the lineup. The three-time 3-Point Contest champion won it all for the Blazers during All-Star Weekend despite not suiting up for the entire season due to an Achilles injury.

Lillard should make life easier for the Blazers on the perimeter, but that isn't going to solve all of their problems. The Blazers might want to look at some big men who can shoot the 3-ball, because Clingan and Robert Williams III don't take many shots from the 3-point line.

This means the Blazers are putting a non-threat from distance on the floor at all times, on top of a struggling Avdija in most lineups, and that is contributing to the team's poor metric in its downtown shooting.

Players like Moe Wagner and Jock Landale could replace Williams in free agency and give the Blazers another threat from the perimeter, giving themselves a chance to improve greatly in one of their worst statistics from this past season.