Portland Trail Blazers: 6 Point Guards They Need to Pursue This Offseason

Point guard play has been a glaring weakness for the 2011-12 Portland Trail Blazers.

Raymond Felton has played far below expectations. His numbers are modest at best, and awful when factoring in shooting percentages. In the eyes of Oregonian beat writer Jason Quick, he has become a locker room cancer.

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If Blazers trade Felton they have a chance to make playoffs.Guy is a cancer and a crappy player. Bottom line. Period.

— Jason Quick (@jwquick)"

Jamal Crawford is a scorer stuck spending minutes at point guard. His shooting percentages are low as well and he does not distribute as well as Felton.

Youngsters Jonny Flynn and Nolan Smith have both performed decently at times. The issue with these two is that they have  played a combined 320 minutes all season for Portland.

For Portland to become better, it must get a better floor leader. These six candidates—listed in the order they should be sought after—can help the Blazers in the coming seasons.

Deron Williams

The No. 1 point guard available through free agency this offseason is a pipe dream for Portland, but it would be a travesty to leave him off this list.

The Blazers will have a lot of cap room available this summer. They must offer Williams a maximum deal. It’s a long shot Williams will sign a deal with Portland, but if he turns it down, so be it.

Odds are he will end up in Dallas, New York, New Jersey or Los Angeles. But for Portland to not offer him a tantalizing offer is not acceptable.

Rajon Rondo

The Boston Celtics point guard is signed through 2015 at an average of $12 million per season, so he would have to come to Portland by trade.

OK.

An offer of Wesley Matthews and one or both of this year’s first-round picks, or a sign-and-trade of Jamal Crawford and/or Raymond Felton paired with picks could be interesting to Boston. Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are both free agents this summer, meaning it stands to reason the Cs are ready to rebuild.

Keep LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum off the table, but offer anyone else on the roster for Rondo.

Rondo is the NBA’s most exciting point guard in the open court. Pairing him with Portland’s athletic forwards would ignite instant electricity in the Rose Garden.

Aaron Brooks

I’ve said it before and I will say it now—Aaron Brooks would be a great fit for the Blazers.

Brooks is a Northwest guy. He grew up in Seattle and played college ball at the University of Oregon. That may seem like a minor detail, but an understanding of what the rainy season is like here can go a long way in keeping a player in check mentally. 

Brooks may have the quickest first step in the game and he can knock down threes.

The biggest question mark concerning Brooks is that he has been away from the NBA for a season after playing in China during the lockout.

He is a restricted free agent with Phoenix, so Portland would need to make at least a $3 million qualifying offer and hope the Suns aren’t in a position to match.

He may be one of the most forgotten about names on the list, but seems like the one who makes the most sense in basketball terms and financial terms.

Kendall Marshall

At 6’4”, 188 pounds, Kendall Marshall has NBA size for a point guard.

He is not a tremendous scorer, but his assist-to-turnover ratio has been good during his two years at North Carolina.

As a freshman he averaged 6.2 assists and 2.5 turnovers per game. This season he upped that to 9.8 assists and 2.8 turnovers. Nearly ten assists a game for a top-tier team automatically makes Marshall an intriguing prospect.

If New Jersey’s 2012 pick is not in the top three and is shipped to Portland, the Blazers should pick Marshall—if he is available—with one of their two selections.

Portland’s too biggest concerns this off-season are at point guard and center. Marshall is the better bet to go with through the draft, as Portland’s history drafting big men is checkered at best.

Luke Ridnour

Luke Ridnour may be available on the cheap as Ricky Rubio will likely take over the reins full time in Minnesota. If Portland can pick him up in a sign-and-trade for Jamal Crawford, it’s a no-brainer.

He’s not worth a first-round pick but may be valued for Hasheem Thabeet’s expiring $5 million deal.

Ridnour is not the flashiest name on the market, but is a more than serviceable player.

Ridnour is a veteran point guard who still has a few quality years to play. He has consistently put up solid numbers over the course of his career and, like Brooks, has a history in the Pacific NW.

Raymond Felton

Whoa, whoa, whoa. How is Raymond Felton on this list? He’s one of the problems in the first place.

However, there is reason to believe Felton could succeed in a changed environment in the Rose Garden.

It’s clear he clashed with coach Nate McMillan. McMillan is no longer the coach.

Should Portland hire Mike D’Antoni—under whom Felton flourished in New York—fans should expect similar results in Portland.

If—IF—Portland hires D’Antoni, the Blazers would be wise to try retaining Felton.

Just for a moment allow yourself to forget about how much of a disappointment Felton has been this season.

Now imagine a coach forcing him to push the ball. Imagine a coach imploring him to throw lobs to Elliot Williams, Nicolas Batum and LaMarcus Aldridge. Imagine a coach drilling it into Felton’s head that he must penetrate into the paint and kick out to Wesley Matthews spotted up in the corner.

This is all possible with D’Antoni at the helm.

Without D’Antoni, the Blazers must enter the season without Felton.