Portland Trail Blazers' Future Bright as Conference Rivals Fade

Trail Blazers’ GM Kevin Pritchard more than deserves the praise he’s received for rebuilding his team so efficiently over the last couple of years.  He’s stockpiled a plethora of young studs via the draft and trades, with almost mocking simplicity. This year, however, Pritchard may have to acknowledge his Western Conference peers as much as himself for the Blazers’ first return to the postseason in four years. After the postseason drought the Blazers have suffered, both the team and its fans would be ecstatic to simply sneak into the playoffs as a seventh or eighth seed.  The teams that have scrambled for those positions over the last couple years (Golden State, Denver, Sacramento, and Dallas) have all taken significant steps backwards this summer.   Warriors lose Davis to Clippers, Ellis to injury Golden State looks to be this year’s version of the 2006-07 Clippers—spiraling back to its former doldrums after a season or two of ... (link)