One Young Player Who Should Be Thrilled About the Blazers' Offseason

The Portland Trail Blazers haven't done too much this offseason, but they are building a revamped team under Micah Nori that could provide opportunity.

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Micah Nori answers questions from the press conference. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Portland Trail Blazers are entering the upcoming season with relatively the same roster they had a year ago.

Branden Carlson, Micah Potter and Ja Morant are entering the mix, which allows the team to maintain most of its chemistry from the year before. A little over a year ago, Sidy Cissoko was one of those new players on the block, but now that he's in his second season with the team on a standard deal as opposed to a two-way, it could be his time to shine.

Sidy Cissoko Can Step Up for Blazers

Portland Trail Blazers guard Sidy Cissoko greets fans as he walks toward the court. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Blazers are building their team through the backcourt with Morant coming on board. Damian Lillard is also expected to be healthy for the start of the season, which puts a pair of small guards in the starting lineup.

With a small backcourt, the Blazers will rely heavily on their wings to provide strong defense on the perimeter. Toumani Camara will start, but it's looking like Cissoko will grab a significant role in the second unit.

The Blazers were looking to possibly re-sign Matisse Thybulle, who would have returned in a similar role. Now that he is signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, it opens up the door for Cissoko to play more.

Cissoko averaged just over 19 minutes per game this past season with the Blazers, appearing in 75 contests and starting in 26. He averaged a career-high 5.1 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. At 6-6, Cissoko can play and defend multiple positions on the floor. That versatility will make him someone popular in new head coach Micah Nori's rotation.

Cissoko logged a 116.9 defensive rating in his minutes on the court with the Blazers last season, which was among the top eight defenders on the team.

The Blazers will have a lot of mouths to feed in the second unit because Robert Williams III, Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe will all come off the bench in some capacity. This might make Cissoko the team's 10th man in the rotation, but his abilities are very different compared to the rest of the group, which makes him extremely valuable.

The Blazers will have plenty of offensive firepower to go around, but the success of their team will be measured by how well they defend. If they don't have the right combination of players on the court to be able to defend, they won't make much progress in the Western Conference standings this season.