National Basketball Association

Portland Trail Blazers Reveal Rotation Plans For Backcourt

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Portland Trail Blazers look to have their backcourt rotation already set despite not even taking the floor yet.

The Portland Trail Blazers made a surprising run to the postseason during the 2015-16 season. Terry Stotts proved that he is an outstanding coach, getting the most out of a roster that saw a massive overhaul from the 2014-15 version.

Gone was LaMarcus Aldridge, the former face of the franchise. Into those shoes stepped Damian Lillard. With Wesley Matthews, Arron Afflalo, Nicolas Batum and Robin Lopez also moving on, expectations were low with plenty of holes to fill.

The Blazers surprised everyone going 44-38 and have brought back many of the same key players to fill the rotation for the 2016-17 season.

The Blazers made a few moves to their roster, signing Evan Turner and Festus Ezeli, while also trading from Shabazz Napier. Turner was the biggest move of the offseason for the team, signing him away from the Boston Celtics with a four-year, $70 million deal.

That is a lot of money to hand out in free agency, even with the salary cap rising. As a result, the Blazers have big plans for Turner this upcoming season. One of those plans includes being the backup point guard with the second unit.

“It’s one of the reasons Evan is here, to help with that,’’ Stotts said Tuesday, per Comcast Sports Net Northwest. “He played point last year with Boston. Whether you say he is point guard or point forward … he can initiate the offense from his position. I think if you watch what he did last year with Boston he is a very versatile player on both ends of the floor.’’

Turner has shown a lot of versatility throughout his NBA career, and it really showed through with the Celtics. Turner was a jack-of-all-trades for the Celtics’ second unit, averaging 10.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.0 steals in 28 minutes per game.

His playmaking ability will be what the Blazers benefit the most from. Last season Stotts relied solely upon Lillard and C.J. McCollum to initiate the offense.

Despite both starting in the backcourt, their minutes would be staggered so that at least one of them was on the court unless it was an emergency situation.

Stotts is hoping that Turner can help alleviate some pressure off his two superstars, as they no longer have to handle the ball on their own.

“That’s one of the reasons we signed (Turner) to begin with … there was so much pressure on Damian and CJ to be the primary ball handlers. Adding another play maker … this league is about being able to make plays and Evan is very comfortable with the ball in his hands. He’s an excellent passer, he can find bigs, and he can bring the ball up the floor.’’

In addition to Turner, the trade for Napier gave the Blazers a true second point guard behind Lillard. But, he is not someone that Stotts will be counting on. According to Jason Quick of CSNNW.com, Napier is expected to play only in emergency situations.

While that looks like the plan, for now, things could change come the regular season. Stotts still has a choice to make with where to play Turner. While he fits coming off the bench because he can fill so many roles, he could also be named the starting small forward.

Maurice Harkless and Allen Crabbe are two other candidates to start at small forward; Lillard and McCollum should be in the backcourt with Al-Farouq Aminu and Mason Plumlee filling out the starting lineup.

Starting lineups is something that Stotts hasn’t talked much about in the past, and that has held true to start the 2016-17 season as well.

“That’s what October is for,’’ Stotts said. “I’m not going to talk starting lineups. I think you are going to see different players get starts throughout the preseason; that’s what this three, four weeks is for.’’

While the starting lineup will not be decided for a couple of weeks, some of the rotation is already coming into focus. The distribution of minutes in the backcourt already looks set, as Lillard and McCollum will once again lead the way with Turner filling in as a third option.

It is hard to envision Napier being in an emergency role for the whole season, but for the time being that looks to be the role he will fill in the early going.