Damian Lillard is still the leader of their roster, the Blazers are finally approaching the coming season with some ambitions. The coaching staff has in particular planned to blow up a player in particular… which will give great pleasure to the n ° 0, who is very close to the latter!
The offseason was calm in Portland, if we except the rumors of transfers around Damian Lillard. The workforce around the superstar has not moved masses, and it was not frankly to delight the superstar … or observers elsewhere, who doubt the chances of the Blazers to make a run in the playoffs next year.
The good news is that the Oregon men can count on an ambitious new coach. Chauncey Billups, who replaced Terry Stotts during the summer, has indeed planned to elbow in the West. Beyond the chance to train Lillard, an interview with The Athletic showed that he was particularly looking forward to working with Jusuf Nurkic!
I’m excited to be training Nurk, really. This guy is super talented, man. I have been on him on the things that I need him. I said, “Nurk, I know you’re going to be a free agent, and I understand that you must have a great year. You need me to have a good year, and I need you to have a good year. We need each other, don’t we? “
Clearly, the franchise’s new tactician wants to involve the Bosnian more, who turned 11.5 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists last year. This should give Damian Lillard a lot of pleasure, whose friendship with the kingpin is absolutely crazy … to the point that Nurk ‘would follow the leader anywhere. Billups plans to blow it up anyway, and expects a lot from it:
I will give him every chance to have a great year. Because if he’s having a great year, that means we’re one hell of a good team. Because he’s a good player. But that does mean he needs to be focused and in shape. Because you will only play for the number of minutes that you are physically capable of. If you’re tired, come on, you have to get out. There are good players behind you.
The health aspect is particularly important for the player, who has only played 45 games in two years. His horrific shin injury contracted in 2019-20 left a mark, but hopefully he got rid of it over the summer. If so, then he could see his numbers improve quickly… and Portland’s situation with it.
Jusuf Nurkic is therefore one of the big plans for 2021-22 in Oregon, and Damian Lillard will certainly take a positive view. Indeed, it will need a workforce to the maximum of its capacities, if it wants to go far!
