Who on Trail Blazers' Rebuilt Roster Can Become Damian Lillard's Sidekick?

It's safe to say the Portland Trail Blazers' offseason didn't go as planned, but they still came away a winner. 

That's a pretty optimistic thing to say about a team that lost one of its all-time greatest players and four-fifths of its starting lineup. But general manager Neil Olshey was able to position the Blazers with a number of youthful players to surround the newly anointed and contractually extended franchise star, Damian Lillard.

As Portland rebuilds itself the traditional way, by developing assets over adding established free agents, someone must emerge to become the Robin to Lillard's Batman when this team grows to contend for a championship.

With the Blazers' new look, there's already a number of candidates.

In the Frontcourt

Right away, the greatest number of options exists down low.

By means of trade or free agency, Portland has been able to add the likes of Noah Vonleh, Mason Plumlee and Ed Davis. Outside of that trio, the Blazers already have Meyers Leonard in town.

All of them have varied skill sets and levels of experience, so let's start with the baby of the group.

Vonleh was selected No. 9 overall in the 2014 draft by the Charlotte Hornets, but surgery to repair a sports hernia derailed his rookie year. Per a report by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, head coach Steve Clifford limited Vonleh's playing time due to the fact that:

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Unfortunately once the season starts you only have certain stretches of the year where you can practice a lot. He’s a 19-year-old who missed all of September, when the foundation was put in, and all of October and is now playing catch-up. The thing that gives him a chance is he’s very gifted and a great worker. But it would be tough for anybody to catch up quickly after missing his rookie preseason.

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It's very similar to the beginning of current Blazers guard C.J. McCollum's career, as he missed training camp and the first few months of the 2013-14 season due to a broken foot before being healthy enough to play. 

But in his sophomore campaign, McCollum emerged as a talented scorer given the opportunity. Vonleh could feasibly do the same in a Blazers uniform next year. 

He has a solid shooting touch, capable of knocking down threes, and is a talented rebounder already. But Vonleh will need time to refine the other areas of his game, such as scoring more effectively (shot just 39.5 percent during his rookie season) and his defense.

He has the skills and size to resemble a player like the Miami Heat’s Chris Bosh at some point, which could mirror the LaMarcus Aldridge-Lillard pick-and-pop combo one day, but there’s a catch.

It’s possible he’ll have a breakout year given the opportunity, but the chances are Vonleh will be a project for the Blazers, just as Meyers Leonard was. He played sporadically during his first two seasons before exploding out of the gates this past season.

It’s more than likely Vonleh will follow a similar trajectory, especially given his age and the experience ahead of him at his position. As such, Vonleh may very well be a star next to Lillard someday. It just won’t be anytime soon.

Plumlee and Leonard are strong athletes, but both have differing approaches on the court.

The latter developed into a deadly shooter last season, with percentages of 51.0/42.0/93.8 to technically make it into the elusive club of marksmen, (but failed to make enough field goals to qualify).

Still, it points to Leonard’s skill in shooting the ball. It’s a little unorthodox considering his 7’1” stature and the fact that he is big and strong enough to succeed in the paint. Most forwards and centers that possess those physical qualities generally aren't good shooters, but Leonard is able to pull it off expertly.

He exhibited as much down the stretch of the season and during the playoffs, with a 17-point, 15-rebound game against the Brooklyn Nets on April 6, as well as a 13-point, 13-rebound performance in the Blazers’ sole win against the Memphis Grizzlies during the opening round of the playoffs on April 27.

Until Leonard is able to expand his game outside of being a talented catch-and-shoot guy, he won’t be relied on as that second star for Portland. He’s shown promise down low with a hook shot and some turnaround jumpers, but he’ll need to go further with it if he’s to be Lillard’s sidekick.

Plumlee will be an interesting combination with Rip City’s point guard in pick-and-roll situations, but he won’t offer much outside of soaring for dunks, rebounds and blocks. He’s an athlete at his position, having averaged 11.8 points, 7.6 boards and 1.0 rejections as a starter for the Nets last season, but he doesn’t offer too much outside of that.

Plumlee can be an X-factor in the paint for the Blazers, but it’s unlikely he’ll develop into a star player, which is fine. He’ll always have a home as a high-flying energizer at the rim. But in terms of Lillard sharing the weight of the franchise, the 6’11” forward falls short.

That leaves us with Davis, who had a strong season with the Los Angeles Lakers despite the team’s shortcomings. He averaged 8.3 points on 60.1 percent shooting, along with 7.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 23.3 minutes per game.

Davis was a bright spot in the Lakers’ dull campaign, consistently working hard for boards, for loose balls and to contest shots.

In a Blazers uniform, the team can count on him to be a burly forward in the paint. He’ll work effectively alongside Lillard, handling the ball and going to the rim in pick-and-rolls or catching lobs. Davis is quick off his feet and is able to recover swiftly, even after his initial jump.

The coming year will mark his seventh season as a pro, and it’s difficult to pinpoint whether he’s reached his potential just yet. He has the physical tools to be a solid post player, but he mostly gets his offense off cuts to the rim.

Davis isn’t truly able to get his own offense, much like Leonard, and would need to find that ability to be considered a sidekick to Lillard. He needs another offensive player that is able to get his own and draw defensive attention, and Davis isn’t that guy just yet.

In the Backcourt

At this point, just McCollum has the chance to develop into a star in the backcourt.

Newcomer Gerald Henderson played with the Charlotte Hornets over the past few seasons as an athletic slasher and defender. But his ceiling appears to be clear in that he’ll remain in the aforementioned role for the remainder of his career. He could develop a stronger outside shot and expand his game, but he doesn’t have the youth to be a franchise cornerstone for Portland during this rebuilding phase.

McCollum, on the other hand, is able to fulfill such a request.

After the aforesaid stutter to his NBA career, he’s since been a solid scoring option off the bench. After former starter Wesley Matthews (try not to cry, Rip City) ruptured his Achilles tendon, McCollum was forced to step up and fill that void.

He averaged 15.6 points on 53.2/40.7/87.5 percent shooting during April, as well as 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists.

McCollum was a little late to the party against the Grizzlies in the playoffs, scoring eight total points over the first two games. But over the final three contests, he exploded to average 25.6 points, including a 33-point outburst in Game 5 as he went 7-of-11 from three-point range.

Without reading too far into it, there’s something to be said about McCollum scoring so efficiently against one of the league’s best defensive teams. It has to be an enormous confidence-booster as he approaches next year, especially with more freedom, as he’ll likely be counted on as a secondary scorer already.

McCollum, like Lillard, will need to improve on the defensive side of the ball, but he’s already established himself as a scorer that must respected. Whether he’s knocking down threes or handling it inside for a mid-range pull-up jumper, it’s safe to say that McCollum can be the secondary star for this Portland team going forward.

He has the most talent and requires the least amount of time to develop it, and he should form a dynamic backcourt with Lillard for years to come. It may not be on par with the “Splash Brothers” of the Golden State Warriors, but it’s a viable comparison to make.

Both can handle the ball, score inside and be deadly from beyond the arc. Defense must be a focal point of improvement for Lillard and McCollum as the Blazers look to contend, but they’ll have time to do so before the team is actually ready to compete at that level. And that's where the front court's development becomes so important as well.

An era might have ended in Portland during the offseason, but another will quickly be underway that the fans can excitedly anticipate.

Let’s go, Rip City.