Blazers' Second Straight Upset Win Over Timberwolves Could Hinder Cooper Flagg Chances

Portland's rebuild could be in jeopardy.

Nov 13, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe (17) shoots the ball against Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Julius Randle (30) during the second half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-Imagn Images / Soobum Im-Imagn Images

The Portland Trail Blazers' rebuild could be in jeopardy.

Thanks to two surprise upset victories over the Minnesota Timberwolves in two days, the squad improved to a shockingly competent 5-8 record in the early offing of the 204-25 NBA season.

In the loaded Western Conference, that still slots them in as the No. 13 seed. But it would make make them a play-in team in the miserable Eastern Conference. Across the two conferences, eight teams have an identical or worse record than the Trail Blazers.

Portland's goal should be tanking this year, in an effort to earn a top-3 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. The impending draft class is said to be absolutely stacked. It's toplined by projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg, a Duke power forward, and a pair of Rutgers wings in Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper.

Frankly, the Trail Blazers need to try to be worse to goose their chances of selecting Flagg, Bailey or Harper this season. Flipping vets like Jerami Grant, Robert Williams III, Matisse Thybulle and maybe even Anfernee Simons or Deandre Ayton may make sense.

Portland showed off exactly why it can at least be a fun, chippy spoiler in the West this year, if team general manager Joe Cronin isn't careful. Rookie center Donovan Clingan drew his first two starts against Minnesota. While he played capable defense in both bouts, he more than held his own as a scorer against reigning Timberwolves Defensive Player of the Year center Rudy Gobert in Wednesday night's rematch. Clingan scored a career-high 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 shooting from the charity stripe, 12 rebounds, an insane eight blocks, and one dime.

After missing Portland's first eight games, shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe has picked up right where he left off last season. He, too, scored a career-high in Portland's comeback victory Wednesday, notching 33 points on 12-of-23 shooting from the floor (3-of-10 from deep) and 6-of-7 shooting from the foul line, six rebounds, and one assist. The 6-foot-5 swingman is averaging 15.2 points on .462/.250/.750 shooting splits, 3.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.6 steals a night for the Trail Blazers.

Forwards Dalano Banton and Toumani Camara, plus sixth man point guard Scoot Henderson, all enjoyed a pair of double-digit scoring nights in the back-to-back wins.

Portland is hardly a world-beater just yet, but the team's impressive size and length clearly bothered the more seasoned Timberwolves. Minnesota is a supposed championship contender, although at 6-6 (and having lost three in a low) the club has has looked like anything but. The team continues to integrate new pieces Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo into its rotation.

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