Recap

Casey Holdahl

Greetings from the real NBA offseason. With Portland's 2023 Las Vegas Summer League in the books, the time was right to record the 50th edition of The Brief Case podcast, which you can listen and subscribe to below...

• The Trail Blazers ending their 2023 Las Vegas Summer League with a lopsided loss to the Miami Heat Sunday night

• How Portland came this close to qualifying for the 2023 Las Vegas Summer League tournament semifinals

• The play of Shaedon Sharpe, Jabari Walker, Scoot Henderson and Kris Murray in Las Vegas

• What might be next for the players on Portland's summer league roster who are not currently under contract for next season

You can subscribe to the Brief Case on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, IHeartRadio, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Pocket Casts, Deezer, PlayerFM. Thanks for listening to the first 50 episodes!

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Wrapping Up Summer League On The Brief Case, Episode 50

LAS VEGAS -- The Trail Blazers’ first game at the 2023 Las Vegas Summer League had a little bit of everything, both good and bad.

The good? Rookie Scoot Henderson looked just as good, and perhaps better, than advertised after he was selected by Portland with the third overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft after playing two seasons for the G-League Ignite.

“Scoot was great,” said Trail Blazers summer league head coach Jonah Herscu. “When he’s in attack mindset and getting into the paint, he’s really good. Point guard is the first line of defense, so I thought his pressure on Thompson was really good, picking him up near halfcourt, in the backcourt. He played with good thrust tonight.”

Shaedon Sharpe picked up right where he left off at the end of his rookie season, adding another highlight dunk to his reel while also displaying an array of skills on both sides of the ball, finishing with a game-high 21 points to go with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks in just under 32 minutes.

“I thought (Sharpe) had a good temperament to himself,” said Herscu. “Shae is good when he’s getting into the paint, not relying on that midrange shot. But he’s such a pure shooter that when he gets to this spot, we feel good about it. And I think defensively in the open court, on both ends of the ball, he did some good things.”

And Jabari Walker, who compiled a double-double of 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and 10 rebounds to go with three assists in 22 minutes, displayed the same knack for finding the ball that earned him a contract at last year’s summer league while rookie Kris Murray, selected with the 23 pick in last month’s draft, looked comfortable and ready to contribute in his first professional minutes.

“I thought I came out pretty loose, that’s kind of what I do, I don’t get too nervous,” said Murray. “So I think it was definitely a good game for me to kind of settle in, kind of play off of everyone. It was a good starting point, can only get better from here.”

But on the flip side, both Henderson and Keon Johnson sustained injuries that ended their games prematurely and issues with late-game execution opened the door for Houston’s Jabari Smith Jr. to hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer that gave the Rockets a 100-99 victory.

“Guys make tough shots in this league,” said Herscu. “We’ll learn from it tomorrow, we’ll watch the video, we’ll move on to the next game.”

Though which players might be available for that next game, not to mention the remaining games on their summer league schedule, is not yet known.

Henderson, after posting 15 points, six assists, five rebounds and a steal in his first 21 minutes left the game in the third quarter with a right shoulder injury and did not return. As for Johnson, he suffered an injury to a finger on his right hand after just a minute of play. Whether either will play on Sunday, let alone the rest of the summer league, is still to be determined.

The Trail Blazers will hold a practice on Saturday, at which point there might be more clarity on the availability of Henderson and Johnson, before facing the San Antonio Spurs Sunday night at Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.

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Blazers Feel The Highs And Lows Of Summer League In Loss To Rockets

PORTLAND -- The Trail Blazers’ 2022-23 season came to a close Sunday afternoon with a 157-101 loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Now, the real work of putting together a championship-caliber roster begins.

Portland finished their second-consecutive season by missing the playoffs -- they finished the 2022-23 season 13th in the West with a 33-48 record -- and while being awarded a valuable pick in a quality draft could be the reward, those at the top of the organization were adamant after Sunday’s finale that changes must be made in order to ensure better results in 2023-24.

“I think you all know how I feel about losing and about this,’ said Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. “I don’t like it, you know. I don’t like it. So I’m glad it’s over and hope that I’m never in this position again. We’re going to try to do everything necessary so hopefully that none of us are in this position again because it’s no fun, man.”

While no one in the organization would have touted the 2022-23 team as championship contender, finishing with the fifth-worst record in the NBA was not expected with Damian Lillard returning to full health, the trade for Jerami Grant, the 2022 trade deadline additions of Josh Hart and Justise Winslow and another year of maturation for Anfernee Simons.

But between youth, a lack of depth and an inability to make marked improvement on the defensive end, Portland never seemed to find any real kind of consistency after the first month of the season. The moves made at the trade deadline belied that fact, as did the decision to prioritize developing young players and avoiding serious injuries in the final weeks of the season.

And while those might have been the correct decisions, difficult as they may have been, a similar scenario cannot happen again next season.

“I think one of the thing that we saw that cost us to lose a lot of ball games was our lack of depth and I think a lot of that depth was young guys who weren’t ready to contribute,” said Trail Blazes general manager Joe Cronin. “To me, that was the reckless part where, okay, we have seven or eight guys who are a big part of our rotation but as soon as things started to go awry, if one or two guys got hurt, all the sudden we’re starting to count on players who weren’t ready to help us yet.

“So I think moving forward, we’re not going to be in ‘Okay, let’s try to find a player’ mode or ‘Let’s try to develop a player on the current roster.’ We’re going to be more in ‘Okay, this is win-now mode where the rotation is going to be much more veteran-laden than it was this year.’”

And at least from an asset perspective, the Trail Blazers are in better position this offseason to improve the roster than at any time in the last decade. They will have two first-round picks -- their own, which has a better than 40 percent chance of being one of the first four picks, and the 23rd pick, which was acquired from the Knicks in the trade that sent Hart to New York -- one second-round pick, two trade exceptions, Bird rights on all of their free agents, which allows the team to go over the salary cap in order to retain those players, and young players on good contracts in order to add talent. With those tools, the Blazers have the potential to make considerable changes this offseason rather than simply making moves around the margins.

“I think we’ve done the tweak thing a few times and I think we’ve got to be more aggressive than that, that’s just my opinion,” said Billups. “If we want to actually do right by the best player in the history of this organization, we have to be aggressive.”

Which is why the clock is ticking. Lillard, who missed the majority of last season due to surgery to repair a core muscle injury, just turned in arguably the best statistical season of his career, which quieted any concerns about the longevity of his career. But at 32, he only has so many elite seasons left, so if the Trail Blazers are to put a team around Lillard capable of competing for a championship, they will need to do so soon.

“Timeline-wise, it’s time for us to start moving quicker toward having a roster that’s ready to compete at the highest level,” said Cronin. “If that means using that pick or other picks in deals where it’s getting aggressive to get stuff done, yeah, we’re open minded to that.”

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As A Disappointing Season Ends, An Important Offseason Begins

MINNEAPOLIS -- Behind the efforts of Shaedon Sharpe, Kevin Knox II and three G-League players who weren’t on the team a week ago, the Trail Blazers were able to secure just their fifth victory since the All-Star break while also breaking a five-game losing streak by besting the Timberwolves 107-105 in front of a sellout crowd of 18,978 Sunday afternoon at The Target Center.

“Very proud of all of them, they all played well,” said Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. “Every single person that got on that floor tonight, they gave it all they had and that’s all I want from our guys, play as hard as you can, play unselfish and then be a good teammates and see what happens. You never know, like tonight.”

The Trail Blazers are now 33-45 overall and 16-22 on the road this season, though with the Magic defeating the Pistons later in the day, Portland still has the fifth-worst record in the NBA with four games to play.

Lately, the Trail Blazers have done an admirable job of keeping games close in the first half, only to get thumped in the second half on the way to double-digit losses against teams bound for the postseason. They managed to repeat that approach in the first half Sunday afternoon by going into the intermission trailing by six thanks in large part to 13 points from both Trendon Watford and Sharpe.

So when Anthony Edwards stole the ball from Sharpe and finished with a dunk to give the Timberwolves an 84-72 lead with 3:37 to play in the third quarter, it seemed like yet another Portland opponent was on the verge of pulling away in the second half.

But Kevin Knox II and Jabari Walker scored the next eight points to cut Minnesota’s lead to two. The Blazers would remain close, and would take their first lead of the second half at 91-88 on a three-pointer from Jeenathan Williams, who was playing in his first NBA game -- he passed his physical at the arena prior to the team -- after being signed to a two year deal after playing this season with the Salt Lake City Stars of the G-League.

“Really just chip away.,” said Sharpe. “It’s a game of runs, so they make one run and we make another. Really just chipped away, stayed poised and calm throughout their run. That really helped us.”

Portland would never trail again thanks in large part to the play of Sharpe, who scored eight points in the final four and a half minutes of Sunday’s win.

“I thought Shae, he was just aggressive attacking,” said Billups. “He didn’t get discouraged, there were some calls there that we thought he couldn’t gotten but didn’t get and he didn’t get discouraged. Kept playing, kept playing, didn’t cry to the officials, nothing, just kept playing, which I loved.”

Sharpe punctuated his performance by going right at Rudy Gobert, arguably the NBA’s best shot blocker, and finishing with sweeping, right-handed shot to push Portland’s lead to three with just over 24 seconds to play.

“It’s tough, he’s a great shot blocker,” said Sharpe of going at Gobert on one of Portland’s final offensive possessions. “But I watched film and I seen different ways I could score. Got into his body and finished wide. I did that but it’s hard, he’s a great shot blocker.”

Sharpe finished with 27 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field and 7-of-9 shooting from the free throw line, six rebounds and six assists in 34 minutes, making him the first Trail Blazers rookie in over 40 years to score at least 25 points in three-straight contests. He is also joins Luka Doncic and Trae Young as the only rookies in the last 10 years to have three-straight games with at least 25 points and at least five rebounds and is the only rookie this season to record multiple games with at least 27 points, at least six rebounds and at least six assists.

“I’m a basketball player who wants to come out and compete day in and day out,” said Sharpe, who is averaging 17.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 12 starts this season. “Just trying to get my teammates involved and really just have fun with the process and have fun with it. I think that’s the biggest thing for me: come out and compete, have fun, bump heads.”

Knox finished with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field, four rebounds, three steals and an assist in 29 minutes. Trendon Watford posted 15 points, three rebounds and two assists in just 18 minutes and Drew Eubanks added 12 points, five rebounds, three blocks, two steals and two assists in 28 minutes.

Skylar Mays, who started his second game for the Blazers after being signed to a ten-day contract, went 6-of-9 from the field for 13 point to go with nine assists and three rebounds in 30 minutes. Williams scored five of his seven points in the fourth quarter and also finished with five rebounds.

Next up, Portland’s final road trip of the season continues with a tilt versus the Grizzlies in Memphis Tuesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.

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Sharpe Challenges The Rim In Win Versus Timberwolves

PORTLAND -- Despite having just seven players available, the Portland Trail Blazers held their own in the first half of versus the Sacramento Kings. Portland had a one-point lead after one quarter and only trailed by four going into the intermission.

Portland was outscored 21-7 in the last six minutes of the third quarter and 70-34 in the second half on the way to a 120-80 loss to the Kings in front of a crowd of 18,550 Wednesday night at Moda Center.

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Chauncey Billups: "He (Shaedon) learns things so quickly" | Portland Trail Blazers | Mar. 29, 2023

“For us, I just kind of felt like our guys were kinda tired in the second half,” said Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. “But we just couldn’t make shots. Some of our better shooters -- Nas (Little), Kevin Knox, and even Jonathan Butler, who’s young -- just couldn’t make threes. Biggest difference was in the second half, (Sacramento) started making threes.”

The Trail Blazers are now 32-43 overall, 17-21 at home this season and have lost six-straight and none of their last 10. With the loss, the Trail Blazers remain in 13th in the West and are tied with the Orlando Magic for the fifth-worst record in the NBA with six games to play.

Shaedon Sharpe led the Trail Blazers with 30 points and seven assists, both new career highs, while also adding seven rebounds and a block in 44 minutes. Kevin Knox II started Wednesday’s contest, his first since being acquired by the Trail Blazers at the trade deadline, and responded with 12 points and 12 rebounds in 39 minutes.

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Shaedon Sharpe (30 points) | Portland Trail Blazers | Mar. 29, 2023

Nassir Little also got the start and finished with 10 points, two rebounds and a block in just under 40 minutes. Jabari Walker came off the bench to post 12 points and five rebounds in 27 minutes.

Keon Johnson, who tied his career high in Monday night's loss, broke his finger in Wednesday morning's shootaround. And with Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono and Trendon Watford joining Damian Lillard, Jusuf Nurkic, Anfernee Simons and Jerami Grant, Portland had just seven players in uniform Wednesday. Only two of  those players -- Nassir Little and Drew Eubanks -- who were on the team this time last season.

Domantas Sabonis led the Kings, who clinched their first playoff berth in 16 season with Wednesday night’s win, with 15 points, 12 rebounds and four assists in 26 minutes.

The Trail Blazers and Kings will meet again -- same time, same place -- Friday night at Moda Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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Blazers, Down To Just Seven Players, Falter In Second Half Versus Kings

PORTLAND -- The Trail Blazers are going to be at a disadvantage versus nearly every team they face from now through the end of the regular season as long as Damian Lillard (right calf), Jerami Grant (left quad), Jusuf Nurkic (right knee) and Anfernee Simons (right foot) are all sidelined.

But the players who are available are still trying their hardest, and it was almost enough to come away with victory Sunday afternoon versus the Oklahoma City Thunder. Portland led by as many as 12 in the first half and had they not turned the ball over 19 times for 29 Oklahoma City points, they likely would have avoided the season-series sweep, which the Thunder completed by coming away with the 118-112 victory in front of a crowd of 18,626 at Moda Center.

“I thought we played very well,” said Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. “Defensively and offensively, we were in tune, we did a good job. I thought we made Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) really work for his 31 (points) tonight. He got on the line, that’s just what he does, he’s really crafty and he does that, but for the most part, we did a good job on him, loading up. They had other guys that played well -- I don’t think we showed Isaiah Joe enough respect, we talked about him a ton, he found a way to break loose. But overall, I thought offensively we played pretty fast.”

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Chauncey Billups: "I keep preaching how we want to play" | Portland Trail Blazers | Mar. 26, 2023

And at this point, showing growth is likely more important for Portland that simply winning, as the chances of making the play-in tournament, while still technically possible, are increasingly unlikely with two weeks to play in the regular season.

So in that regard, the Trail Blazers did make progress Sunday afternoon, as Shaedon Sharpe once again posted a career-high with 29 points on 9-of-13 shooting while doing an admirable job defending Gilgeous-Alexander. Keon Johnson was also able to show much of what he’s been working on behind the scenes this season, going for 14 points and five assists in 21 minutes off the bench.

But perhaps no Blazer showed more promise in Sunday afternoon’s contest than Nassir Little. The 6-5 forward, who has appeared in 50 games this season, posted a season-high 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field, 3-of-6 shooting from three and 3-of-3 shooting from the line to go with six rebounds in 31 minutes.

“Coach did a great job of drawing stuff to have me coming off pindowns, it allowed me to be aggressive,” said Little, who is averaging 6.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game this season. “I was able to see lanes, see how I could get my shot so props to him for getting me in position to get the ball and get open. I was kind of taking advantage of what they were giving me.”

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Nassir Little: "I love playing basketball" | Portland Trail Blazers | Mar. 26, 2023

Little started the second half after coming off the bench in the first due to Trendon Watford missing the final 24 minute due to a sprained right ankle. And he responded by leading an 11-0 run that turned a six-point deficit into a three-point lead.

“Nas has done a really good job of just kind of sticking with whatever he’s getting out there,” said Billups. “There’s been so many times where he’s not played a lot based on however I’m making the rotations and he’s always stayed consistent with his work and the things he’s trying to do to prepare. And then you see him come in on a night like tonight and get up a lot of shots and make a whole lot of them.”

Little would go on to score 13 points in the third quarter on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 shooting from the line. So the third quarter ended up being the kind opportunity for Little that he would rarely get were the entire roster suited up.

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Nassir Little Highlights (28 points) | Portland Trail Blazers | Mar. 26, 2023

“I’m not really trying to show anything in particular, just really when guys get down you’ve got just more opportunities,” said Little. “So like, whatever situation Coach got me in, I’m just trying to take advantage of it. Just got to be aggressive, my mindset has to change a little bit, they’re going to need me to score a little bit more. So just kind of doing that but it’s something I’m capable of doing so it’s not really like I feel like I’m trying to showcase something that they don’t know I can do.”

Little, who signed a four-year contract extension prior to the start of the regular season, probably hasn’t had the season that he would have hoped. But as long as there’s some season left, Little will continue to put in the work and build for future seasons, which is a win for the Trail Blazers regardless of the result.

“I love playing basketball. That’s what I love to do, that’s what I’ve been doing for the majority of my life,” said Little. “So any time I have an opportunity to get to do that at the highest level, I love that, I’m ecstatic about it. I wish it could be under a different circumstance but at the end of the day we have a job to do and I’m prepared to do that.”

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Little Looks To Take Advantage Of Late-Season Minutes

PORTLAND -- Damian Lillard did as much as he could in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s game, but it ultimately wasn’t enough.

The 6-3 point guard in his 11th season out of Weber State scored 18-straight Trail Blazers points and 25 in the fourth quarter alone, though Portland would still go on to lose 126-112 to the Boston Celtics in front of a sellout crowd of 19,393 Friday night at Moda Center.

“Just the fight that we showed gave us a chance down the stretch,” said Lillard. “When you work so hard to climb back into a game like that, it usually ends how it did. You get close and then bang, bang, bang, that’s a wrap. Competing and fighting is the minimum -- you’ve got to have that -- and I thought out team at least showed it, but that alone is not going to beat a team like (Boston).”

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Damian Lillard Highlights (41 points) | Portland Trail Blazers | Mar. 17, 2023

The Trail Blazers are now 31-39 overall, 17-17 at home and 0-2 versus the Celtics this season. Portland has now lost five-straight and are three games back for the last spot in the play-in tournament with 12 games to play.

Portland entered the fourth quarter trailing by 19, and not much had happened in the previous 36 minutes to indicate it would get much closer. Same for the first six minutes of the fourth, in which the Blazers were unable to cut into the Celtics’ considerable lead.

First it was a free throw with 6:26 to play, then a 27-foot three pointer, then a layup, then another three-pointer. By time one of his teammates broke his streak, Lillard had scored 18-straight for the Trail Blazers to cut Boston’s advantage to eight points with under three minutes to play.

“I’ve been a part of games where we’ve had leads like that and, even when we won the game, it still became a game,” said Lillard. “I’m looking at the clock say, we get some stops, we get to the free throw line, we make some big shots, we’re going to give ourselves a chance. Ya’ll know that I’ve always been that way. Even when it seems like it’s out of reach, I’m going to go out there and compete and I’m going to try to make something happen regardless of how realistic or unrealistic it is and live with the results. But I’m never going to just go out there and be like, it’s over, especially if it’s six, seven minutes left in the game.”

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Chauncey Billups: "We kept fighting, we kept scrapping" | Portland Trail Blazers | Mar. 17, 2023

But as has been the case more often than not this season, Portland was unable to get the stops they’d need to complete the rally. A dunk by Jaylen Brown followed up by a three from Al Horford pushed Boston’s advantage back to 15 with a minute and a half to play, ending what little chance Portland had of pulling off the comeback versus a team currently with the second-most wins in the NBA.

Lillard finished with 41 points on 12-of-23 shooting from the field, 6-of-15 shooting from three and 11-of-14 shooting from the line, five assists, four rebounds, a steal and a block in just under 37 minutes.

Anfernee Simons added 17 points and four assists and Matisse Thybulle finished with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Trendon Watford, who started for the second-straight game in place of Jerami Grant (left quad contusion), added 10 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals in 34 minutes.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 34 points to go with 12 rebounds. Jaylen Brown added 27 points.

Next up, the Trail Blazers host the Clippers Sunday night in the last game of a three-game homestand. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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Lillard Leads Rally, Blazers Fall Short Versus Celtics

NEW ORLEANS -- The Trail Blazers finished up a six-game road trip, their longest of the season, with a 127-110 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans in front of a crowd of 16,676 Sunday night at Smoothie King Center.

"Definitely disappointed,” said Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. “We knew that (New Orleans) team played last night, it’s a tough loss and to me what you just seen was one team that was very desperate and you seen the other team really kind of get taken advantage of. And that was us. Of course me, as the competitor that I am, it burns me up for us to come out like that, just kind of cave in from the start of the game.”

The Trail Blazers are now 31-37 overall, 14-22 on the road this season and finish up a six-game trip with a 2-4 record. And with the loss, Portland remains in 13th in the West, but fall to two games behind the Jazz, Thunder, Lakers and Pelicans for the last two spots in the play-in tournament with 14 games to play.

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Chauncey Billups: "This is a long tough trip" | Portland Trail Blazers | Mar. 12, 2023

“We’ve just got to be better about having urgency. We don’t have enough urgency,” said Billups. “Obviously I’ve got to be better about teaching it and coaching it but we just haven’t had enough urgency. But as I’ve also said, like in the Western Conference, every single night things kind of change, but we can’t be lookin for help. We’ve got to be a willing participant in our own rescue, so we’ve got to play better basketball and give ourselves a chance.”

Anfernee Simons finished with 17 points, four assists and two rebounds in 24 minutes. Shaedon Sharpe went for 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and a block in 21 minutes. Kevin Knox Jr. also added 14 points along with six rebounds and an assist in 12 fourth-quarter minutes.

Cam Reddish posted 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. Nassir Little, Trendon Watford and Matisse Thybulle also finished with 10 points apiece.

Damian Lillard sat out Sunday’s game due to right calf tightness.

Trey Murphy III led all scorers with 41 points, a new career high, in just under 30 minutes. CJ McCollum had a double-double with 22 points and 11 assists while Josh Richardson came off the bench to add 19 points.

The Trail Blazers now return to Portland, where they will play eight of their next nine games starting with a tilt versus the New York Knicks Tuesday night at Moda Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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Blazers Fall In New Orleans To Finish Trip 2-4

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