Portland Trail Blazers: 4 Reasons to Look Forward to Next Season

As the 2012 NBA Playoffs continue, Portland fans have once again been relegated to the sidelines, forced to ponder what went wrong and what, if anything, can be done to fix it.

However, while 2012 may have been a lost season for Rip-City (as acknowledged by owner Paul Allen), a combination of deft front-office dealings, the reimbursement of a tragedy and plain dumb luck have resulted in a rather optimistic outlook for the Blazers heading into this offseason.

Now afforded the opportunity to dramatically retool its roster, Portland has given its fans several reasons to be ecstatic when thinking about what could be.

So why exactly should fans of one the most consistently frustrating franchises be looking forward to next season?

Click further to find out....

An Advantageous Spot Amongst the Lottery

After Paul Allen's disassembling of the team around midway through last season, the Blazers' roster may have begun to feel like an Island of Misfit Toys to some fans. While pickups like Hasheem Thabeet and Johnny Flynn may not inspire fan fervor, Rip-City faithful will have a much more enticing crop of youngsters to be excited about come June 28th.

A result of management's mid-season wheeling and dealing, the Blazers are now in the enviable position of having two possible lottery picks available them in this year's NBA draft. Assuming New Jersey does not receive a top-3 selection in the drawing, the Blazers will likely have the opportunity to snag two lottery-caliber players this June.

How Portland will choose to use this advantageous situation will be one of the more interesting story-lines of the offseason. 

With needs at both the point-guard and center positions, the Blazers could elect to fill both in a matter of hours during the draft. They could also opt to trade one or both of their picks away to acquire a league-established talent. 

Regardless of how management chooses to deal with this rather-fortunate scenario, Portland's prime position in this year's draft should have fans salivating at the possibilities for the 2012-13 season.

A Real GM

Imagining the various scenarios that could arise from the Blazers' comfy position in this year's draft is an entertaining prospect. However, the reality of what will happen on June 28th will rely heavily upon who assumes the mantle of GM next season.

Since firing former GM Rich Cho in the 2011 offseason, the Blazers have been without a formal General Manager, which could explain some of the front office's more questionable calls in recent times.

Initial rumors had Allen and Co. leaning heavily towards former Spurs executive Steve Kerr, but recent reports have Pacers GM David Moray as the frontrunner for the position.

The prospect of having Morway as Portland's new GM should be exciting to fans for a number of reasons. Morway has experienced success with the Pacers so far, largely off of players developed through the organization. In addition, Morway's experience with building a contender in a small market such as Indianapolis makes him an ideal fit for the Blazers' situation. 

Luring the Pacers GM away from Indiana could be difficult considering their recent upswing, but if the Blazers can land Morway, the presence of a stable, efficient GM could be an integral component of a successful season next year.

A Big-Contract Player

Whoever does assume the mantle of GM for the Blazers next season will inherit quite the comfy situation as Portland prepares enters the 2012 off-season.

As a silver-lining in the otherwise tragic story of Brandon Roy's retirement late last year, the NBA's amnesty clause allows the Blazers to receive back nearly all of the salary cap space eaten up by Roy's hefty max-contract during his last few injury-plagued season.

The result is around 24 million dollar of cap-space available to the front-office at the beginning of this offseason, a considerable amount which could be used to shore up the roster's weakest spots.

Who will the Blazers target with this attractive sum of cash?

At this moment, a likely prospect is Pacers center Roy Hibbert.

The former Georgetown standout has shown steady and impressive development in his first four years in the league, and reached career highs in points, rebounds and minutes per game last season.

Hibbert, a restricted free-agent who made his first All-Star team this season, has already expressed a willingness to test the market.

If the Blazers can attract Hibbert or a similar talent this free agency period, they could quickly shift from the cellar of the west to a contender, giving fans plenty of reason to follow the next several months intensely. 

Lamarcus Aldrige's Return to Full Health

One of the high-points of a dismal season, Lamarcus Aldridge's selection to the All-Star team reminded fans that at the Blazers' core remained a stellar group of talent. 

Thus, Aldridge's injury problems later in the year was certainly cause for legitimate worry among Portland fans. Luckily, Aldridge underwent successful surgery on his hip on May 10th, and is expected to make a full recovery by next season.

Furthermore, Aldridge's decision to take the remainder of the year off to receive surgery should ensure that he isn't rushed back to the court while still recuperating from any ailments, as seemed to be the case with Brandon Roy and Greg Oden.

With Aldridge finally free of the nagging injuries which plagued him throughout last year, fans should expect him to take full advantage of the soon-to-be revamped roster. With LA healthy and a bevy of new talent, 2012-13 should be full of reasons for fans to get excited about Rip-City once more.