Where Will Blazers Land In 2024-25 Western Conference Standings?

What can be expected from Portland this year?

The Portland Trail Blazers finished last season with a record of 21-61, sitting in last place in the Western Conference standings. The team wasn't very competitive but they have been trying to build themselves back up.

Portland has a collection of good, young talent on the roster but has yet to see it translate to anything on the court. After trading star guard Damian Lillard last season, the Trail Blazers entered into a much-needed rebuild.

Now as the team gets ready for the upcoming new NBA season, what can fans realistically expect? The hope would be to not finish last in the conference once again but with the level of talent in the West, it may be a challenge.

The West was already loaded last season and it's only expected to get better this year. Portland may have a tough time keeping up with the teams.

The Trail Blazers are arguably the worst team in the conference and barring a major injury to some other teams, Portland will likely finish in last place once again. The San Antonio Spurs, who finished only one game above the Trail Blazers in the standings, should be much better this year.

Second-year star Victor Wembanyama and veteran point guard Chris Paul should allow the Spurs to possibly compete for a playoff spot. The Memphis Grizzlies should have better health this season and will try to reclaim their spot toward the top of the conference.

The Utah Jazz may not make the postseason but they always seem to be competitive. This leaves Portland as the only team that can be projected to finish in last place.

Portland general manager Joe Cronin already set the expectation level for the team next season. He mentioned that expectations should be tempered as the team headed into the offseason.

"We're heavily invested in a lot of our young guys, so development will continue to be our focus. We're not going to win at an extremely high level until some of those guys are ready. At the same time, we have to put those guys in the best environment."

Joe Cronin: "We're heavily invested in a lot of our young guys, so development will continue to be our focus. We're not going to win at an extremely high level until some of those guys are ready. At the same time, we have to put those guys in the best environment."

— Sean Highkin (@highkin) April 15, 2024

Despite this, Portland can keep pushing for the future. They want to see major development from young players such as Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and rookie Donovan Clingan.

If the Trail Blazers can be more competitive, fans will be content with the rebuild. Portland is a proud basketball city that loves the Trail Blazers but it may be a few years before the playoffs are seen again.

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