4. Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers are going to need something to happen this offseason. Despite playing solid basketball in the regular season, Portland was yet another early playoff exit, leading many to believe that Damian Lillard is going to force his way out.
First of all, stop dreaming of Lillard going to the Lakers. It is not going to happen and if he does demand a trade there are plenty of teams that can offer much more than the Lakers. Personally, I think we are another year away from this getting ugly and Lillard really demanding his way out of Portland.
That means for the time being the team has to try and improve with the limited resources they have. There is potential for a CJ McCollum trade but they have to do something that makes sense. As for the rest of the roster, well, Portland is strapped for cash.
The team is going to utilize veteran minimum contracts with the MLE this offseason. Being desperate for a defensive presence, it would not be totally shocking to see Portland outbid the Lakers by giving Caruso an MLE offer.
Look: Portland is awful defensively. They had the second-worst defensive rating in the league last season. They do not have a single player who can guard the other team’s best guard. Robert Covington is that guy but he took a step back defensively in Portland.
Caruso is that help. We have seen time and time again that he is capable of slowing down the best guards in the league, just look at Lillard against the Lakers in the playoffs last season. He also is a guard who does not demand the ball at all and fits perfectly into the “Dame Time” offense that Portland runs where Lillard looks to simply take over every game.
It is a perfect fit. Does Caruso make them title favorites? Not even close. But if they can hire the right defensive-minded coach to maximize Caruso and Covington then they could have a defense that is much more palpable.