Deandre Ayton landed in Portland as part of the blockbuster trade that sent Damian Lillard to Milwaukee.

NBA basketball returns Oct. 24. We are counting down the days like the seconds on a shot clock — literally, that’s what we’re doing. As of Oct. 1, our writers will list 24 storylines heading into the 2023-24 NBA season.

A new storyline will drop each day. Here’s No. 14: 

The Blazers’ new era under Scoot Henderson and Deandre Ayton will take some time to develop.

A round of applause, please, for Joe Cronin. He confirmed the Blazers were on Cronin Time and not “Dame Time.” The trade of Damian Lillard was done by his watch, motives and desire to help the Blazers first and foremost (as promised) and maybe Dame second. In the end, everyone won, but especially the general manager.

That said, the Blazers don’t appear to be on the verge of crashing the contender party.

Scoot Henderson, Deandre Ayton, Robert Williams III, Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons form a very intriguing set of young players. And from a size standpoint, the tandem of Williams and Ayton will cause issues for other teams.

But speaking of size, the NBA is a big-boy league. These players need time to grow and allow chemistry to take hold.

When was the last time a 25-and-under core without an All-Star did anything special? Can the Blazers even defend at a high level yet? As for Henderson, point guard is the toughest position to master in the NBA. The rookie obviously has the goods, but the pudding needs proof.

The West is too deep to allow someone to sneak in, skip steps and cheat the system. By making a good trade, the Blazers won the day. They just won’t win until tomorrow.

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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

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