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2012-13 NBA Preview: Portland Trail Blazers
- Updated: October 19, 2012
12. Portland Trail Blazers
HOW THEY CAN WIN: LaMarcus Aldridge (21.7 ppg, 8 rpg) is somehow still drastically underrated as one of the NBA’s best post players. Aldridge has improved every year he’s been in the league, and is unquestionably the go-to guy on this team. Rookie guard Damian Lillard has played well in the preseason and could be one of the better rooks in the league this year. He was a prolific scorer and passer at Weber State, and will bring some much-needed explosiveness to the backcourt.
WHY THEY WON’T: The Blazers are in rebuilding mode, and have focused their efforts on building around Aldridge. Like the Rockets and Hornets, there’s too much youth on this team to think that it could contend this year. 30-year old Jared Jeffries is Portland’s oldest player.
FINAL DESTINATION: It would be a surprise if Portland found a way to contend with so much youth and inexperience on this team. Aldridge is a nice player, but he can’t carry a team to the playoffs by himself. Still, with Lillard, center Meyers Leonard and guard Will Barton in place, the future looks bright.
| TEAM ROSTER | |||||||
| NO. | NAME | POS | AGE | HT | WT | COLLEGE | 2012-2013 SALARY |
| 12 | LaMarcus Aldridge | PF | 27 | 6-11 | 240 | Texas | $14,000,000 |
| 8 | Luke Babbitt | SF | 23 | 6-9 | 225 | Nevada | $1,892,280 |
| 5 | Will Barton | SG | 21 | 6-5 | 170 | Memphis | $550,000 |
| 88 | Nicolas Batum | SF | 23 | 6-8 | 200 | $10,850,000 | |
| 18 | Victor Claver | SF | 24 | 6-9 | 224 | $1,300,000 | |
| 19 | Joel Freeland | PF | 25 | 6-10 | 225 | $3,013,512 | |
| 34 | Demonte Harper | G | 23 | 0-0 | 00 | Morehead State | |
| 21 | J.J. Hickson | PF | 24 | 6-9 | 242 | North Carolina State | $4,000,000 |
| 10 | Justin Holiday | SG | 23 | 6-6 | 185 | Washington | |
| 1 | Jared Jeffries | PF | 30 | 6-11 | 240 | Indiana | $1,475,106 |
| 7 | Coby Karl | PG | 29 | 6-5 | 215 | Boise State | $854,389 |
| 52 | Dallas Lauderdale | F | 24 | 0-0 | 00 | Ohio State | |
| 11 | Meyers Leonard | C | 20 | 7-1 | 245 | Illinois | $2,126,520 |
| 0 | Damian Lillard | PG | 22 | 6-3 | 195 | Weber State | $3,065,040 |
| 2 | Wesley Matthews | SG | 26 | 6-5 | 220 | Marquette | $6,505,320 |
| 6 | Adam Morrison | SF | 28 | 6-8 | 205 | Gonzaga | |
| 3 | Sasha Pavlovic | SG | 28 | 6-7 | 235 | $1,229,255 | |
| 24 | Ronnie Price | PG | 29 | 6-2 | 190 | Utah Valley | $1,146,337 |
| 83 | Craig Smith | PF | 28 | 6-7 | 265 | Boston College | $854,389 |
| 4 | Nolan Smith | PG | 24 | 6-2 | 185 | Duke | $1,365,720 |
| 9 | Elliot Williams | SG | 23 | 6-5 | 180 | Memphis | $1,442,880 |
| Coach: Terry Stotts |
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