Evanson: The Trail Blazers are winning, and that should be a good thing

Published 1:00 pm Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Don’t look now, but the Trail Blazers are winning games. And while many of you aren’t happy about that, I don’t blame you, I blame the league responsible for making you root against your team.

What does that mean? Simply put, the NBA as currently constituted tells you and the teams in it that you either win big or lose big, but anything shy of either is in the big picture a commitment to losing long-term — and that sucks.

Portland needs players.

Yes, they have exciting talent in guards Anfernee Simons, Scoot Henderson and the emerging Shaedon Sharpe.

And yes again, they have prospective contributors in rookie center Donovan Clingan, 23-year-old small forward Deni Avdija, and to some extent second-year forward Toumani Camara, along with veteran assets like Deandre Ayton and Jerami Grant that could bring assets going forward via trade.

But what nearly everyone who follows the National Basketball Association will tell you, if you want to be relevant in a league built around superstars, you need to acquire one by way of the draft, and losing is really the only way to make that happen.

Does that sound healthy? Not if it were my business, but the NBA seems steadfast in its efforts to maintain the status quo, which had the Philadelphia 76ers deliberately losing a decade ago, the San Antonio Spurs doing the same two years ago, and countless teams like the Trail Blazers thinking similarly in an effort to acquire the draft’s top pick, which they can only hope reaps a generational reward.

This coming year, that player is Duke’s Cooper Flagg who most project as “that guy” regarding the ability to build a winner around. As a result, for teams like Portland, many will argue the real competition over this year’s 82-game slate is not winning games, but rather losing them in an effort to get better.

That noise you heard was my deep sigh, and that sight you didn’t see was my eyes rolling.

Losing should never be at the forefront of any competitive endeavor, and aspiring to do so at the professional level should be an even bigger no-no.

The average NBA ticket in 2024-25 per Barry’s Tickets, which takes into account both the primary and secondary market, is $228.50. Portland’s average ticket price using the same metric is $121.

In addition, to no one’s surprise, concessions at games rival an Outback Steakhouse from a price standpoint, but minus, of course, the steak, potato and veggies, and replaced by a second-rate hot dog to go with a paper bowl of chips and Cheez Whiz.

In other words, for roughly $300 you can take a friend or significant other to a Blazer game that the organization is actively trying to lose, eat fast food and drink a couple overpriced adult libations? Or, you can go have a nice dinner (better than Outback…sorry), a drink or two, and then figure out what to do with the extra $100 in the wake of such?

Easy choice, right? And one that should concern the Blazer organization, and more importantly the league that’s put them in this position.

A team, player and especially a professional organization should never benefit beyond the intangibles from losing. Winning should always be the goal, and you should gain from it. But over the years, the NBA and the people running it lost their way, and due to such, fans of the league are losing theirs.

To be fair, I’m not sure how you fix it. But to be equally fair, it feels like a group of people being paid millions of dollars to do just that, probably should.

Maybe you don’t effectively order the draft by wins and losses?

Maybe you officiate games based on the rules of the game opposed to the stature of those playing it?

Maybe you toggle the collective bargaining agreement to redistribute the power to limit player movement?

I don’t know, but I do know that teams like the Blazers, and fans like the Blazers have, shouldn’t be forced into a position to run or root for their team with losing in mind. After all, this is competitive sport, which by definition should be competitive — with both the short and long term in mind.