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The 2020-21 NBA season is a few weeks away and training camp is underway. The Portland Trail Blazers fought in the NBA bubble to secure the No. 8 seed into the playoffs from the Western Conference. That fight game them the opportunity to take one game from the Los Angeles Lakers before things unraveled. Damian Lillard got hurt in the process, though he’s expected to be fine to start this season. The Blazers made a few offseason moves that should position them to compete for another postseason berth. Here we’re going to take a look at the Trail Blazers’ offseason, plus look ahead to the 2020-21 season.
2020 offseason
Key additions
Robert Covington, F (trade)
Derrick Jones Jr., G/F (free agency)
Enes Kanter, C (free agency)
Key losses
Hassan Whiteside, C (free agency)
Mario Hezonja, PF (trade)
Kent Bazemore, G/F (free agency)
2020-21 odds
Title odds: +5000
Win percentage: O/U 56.5
Damian Lillard MVP odds: +2000
Robert Covington DPOTY odds: +5000
Jusuf Nurkic DPOTY odds: +10000
2020-21 roster
Depth Chart
PG: Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons, CJ McCollum
SG: CJ McCollum, Gary Trent Jr., Rodney Hood
SF: Robert Covington, Rodney Hood, Derrick Jones Jr.
PF: Zach Collins, Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Jones Jr.
C: Jusuf Nurkic, Enes Kanter, Harry Giles III
Roster battles
Starting PF: Carmelo Anthony vs. Zach Collins
6th man: Rodney Hood vs. Gary Trent Jr. vs. Derrick Jones Jr.
Fantasy basketball
Best Sleeper
Robert Covington — This is the perfect place for Covington to thrive. He’s playing alongside two play-making guards in Lillard and McCollum. RoCo will likely play heavy minutes at wing as the Blazers’ new shutdown defender (something the Blazers have needed for a while).
Likely Bust
Rodney Hood — There isn’t really any one player that could be a bust other than Hood (and maybe Melo). Hood is coming off of a major Achilles injury, which isn’t something that’s easy to come back from. He’s also a wing player who thrives on the ability to get open looks from beyond the arc. If Hood can’t do that, his role should diminish fast with Trent and Simons on the roster and fighting for minutes.