The Portland Trail Blazers have made some small moves this offseason and now the team has added another player in Mo Williams and he comes in after playing with the Jazz and he likely will backup Damian Lillard.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, Williams was signed to a two-year $5.6 million deal and that ends any interest from the Knicks and Heat and he comes in after averaging 12.9 points and 6.2 assists a game last season. The Trail Blazers were part of one of the biggest trades of the NBA offseason this year when they helped facilitate the three-way deal with the New Orleans Pelicans to get Sacramento Kings point guard Tyreke Evans and now one of the players the team received in that deal has been suspended by the league.
According to ESPN.com, the NBA suspended guard Terrel Harris for five games after violating the league drug policy, although the details about the nature of the drug or the failed test were not disclosed in the report. Harris was acquired by the Blazers in the three-team trade from the Pelicans which also brought over center Robin Lopez and sent Evans to the Pelicans and Greivis Vasquez to the Sacramento Kings. The Blazers have made multiple trades this offseason, including acquiring Thomas Robinson from the Houston Rockets while they were clearing out space for Dwight Howard.
Harris is a three-year veteran that has played for the Miami Heat and the Pelicans and he has averaged 2.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 42 games in his career. The suspension only applies to regular season games and that means Harris obviously could play in the preseason if the Blazers hang onto him. The team went just 33-49 last season but have plenty of potential in the future with Damian Lillard and Robinson and now with the acquisition of Lopez the team has more depth behind star LaMarcus Aldridge.
This offseason the team has been mentioned in trade rumors involving Aldridge, but so far no real movement has come on any front in moving the star. Last season Aldridge led the team in scoring with over 20 points per game and after ranking 15th in points per game and 21st in points allowed, the Blazers will be looking to improve on both fronts. The front office may want to trade Aldridge now and fully start to rebuild, but they will likely hang onto him and possibly trade him during the season.
