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The elimination of the playoffs is the hard reality of the NBA out of season, namely the discourse on building the team that excites fans of the league but which probably has general directors who tackle. The Blazers are extremely familiar with this cycle. They were regularly questioned for keeping the backyard united and questioned the decisions regarding their alignment that they had made after disappointing seasons. And although the team has qualified for the Western Conference finals this season – far exceeding pre-season expectations after a first-round defeat in last year's playoffs – after being swept by the Warriors, these questions arise again. But at least one of them seems to already have an answer.
Yahoo's Chris Haynes announced on Tuesday that Portland and Damian Lillard – one of Paul George's top performers in the first round – were trying to reach a deal on the supermax that Lillard is eligible for this summer because of his next ranking All-NBA. If the team, the city, and the player had not already been woven so tightly, this shot will seal it: if the Blazers can help him, Lillard will not play for another franchise until the end of his career.
Aged 28, he was one of the best players in the league this season and fully deserves the rewards and the money that await him. It's impossible to discuss. But take a closer look at the annual distribution of the supermax extension and your eyes widen. According to Bobby Marks of ESPN, the new agreement would come into force by 2021, giving $ 42.6 million to Lillard in 2021-2022, $ 46 million in 2022-2023, $ 49.4 million in 2023- $ 2024 and $ 52.8 million in 2024-2025; Lillard will be 34 years old.
To be clear: given that Portland has not always been a destination of choice for free agents, and that Lillard has repeatedly expressed his desire to stay and play for the Blazers, the office of home should not (and probably will not) think twice to give him this agreement. But the details of the announced contract raise a few more questions: How will Lillard behave at the age of 30, the age range in which the players have traditionally weakened themselves? How will Portland build a competitor around this deal? These realities matched exactly what the Sixers were trying to avoid when they all went during the last season; Ben Simmons's cost-controlled contract gave them a window to try to win before the money cuffs them.
The conversation about the supermax is heavy, not only for Portland, but also for other teams in the league who have faced the situation and for those who will do so. Conceived as a way to keep the stars with the teams that drafted them, it instead forced players who wish to leave to ask even before the extension negotiations occur (like Paul George), forced the teams to trade early players likely to leave (DeMarcus Cousins), seen teams exchange players after signing the agreement (Blake Griffin), or interfere with teams to the point that relying on said player becomes like solving Rubik's cube with the eyes bands. Take the magicians. They granted a supermax extension to John Wall in 2017, then he injured his Achilles in February and may not play next season (or no longer be himself on the field). Indeed, his supermax should come into play this fall. to earn more than $ 47 million by 2022. This is a precarious situation, both for the team that has such a contract, and for the player who must somehow meet the unrealistic expectations of a such agreement. But the Blazers do not seem to have much choice.
Two unknown factors as to the effect of Lillard's extension on the Blazers over the next few seasons are the fact that we are not sure whether the cap will be similar in two, three or five years. A possible increase in the ceiling over the duration of the future contract of Lillard is likely, but will it be progressive or a jump in height as in the summer of 2016? This will determine what percentage of the Blazers' ceiling the supermax would take, and subsequently, how much it would become an obstacle in team building. Another factor is the sale of the team, which would likely take place in the next few years, following the death of its owner Paul Allen in 2018. The Lillard extension could be part of the overall tasks to be assumed by the next owner. Again, locking Lillard could also be a way to show stability and attract another top player to the team.
Whatever the case may be, it will be up to the executive director, Neil Olshey, to determine how to shape the surrounding composition, and especially how to add a reliable or elongated wing (sorry, Meyers Leonard). Portland has little room for organic improvement next season, aside from the choice of a lucky draft (the skill level of Anfernee Simons remains to be determined), a certain free agent falling in love with the Portland coffee scene or a radical change like that of a key player. Then comes the question of whether Zach Collins or C.J. McCollum is an attractive enough option to close a deal and achieve a better result.
No matter how you cut it, the question of Portland's backyard is what we always seem to be coming back to, if only because McCollum is the most precious piece the Blazers have for Lillard. Although they are a full-fledged dynamite duo, as long as Lillard and McCollum remain at their best, Klay Thompson and Steph Curry will probably be in theirs. And even if the Lillard-McCollum couple manages to match the back of the Warriors' court a good day, Portland needs – and in fact, it's been years since he needs anything else to overtake him. In an ideal world, this would be in addition to Lillard and McCollum, but with financial constraints on the horizon, the Blazers may not have the means to buy it back.
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