From Oden to Yang Hansen! How many regrets and hopes are hidden in the Trail Blazers’ reconstruction road in the past 20 years?

Let's talk about the Portland Trail Blazers today - this team once called the "Northwest Wolf", whose stories in recent years have been more ups and downs than the script. From the regret of Oden's "parallel pick", to Lillard's persistence in "one person, one city", to the current drastic reconstruction, every step of the Trail Blazers is like walking a tightrope.

1. The choice in 2007 laid the foreshadowing for nearly 20 years

In the summer of 2007, the Trail Blazers held the No. 1 pick, and two names were placed in front of them: Oden and Durant. At that time, the league was still popular with "the inside line is king", and the management gritted their teeth and chose Oden - what was the result? The "Emperor" retired in injury and retired in the rookie season. After returning, he played for two years and was reimbursed, and eventually became the "largest parallel pick in history." Looking at Durant in reverse, he later became the "God of Death", and this choice has been scolded by fans so far.

But the pioneers at that time also had hope. The "three giants" composed of Roy, Oden and Aldridge won 50 games in 62 games in the first full season, with a winning rate of over 80%! As a result, Oden was repeatedly injured, Roy retired due to injury, and Aldridge left. By the time Lillard was selected in 2012, the team had been broken.

2. Lillard's "lonely years", two successes, two defeats, and two shots

When Lillard first entered the league, no one expected that he could carry the entire team. From a rookie averaging 19 points per game in the year to later forming a "double backcourt gun" with McClum, the two led the team into the playoffs for seven consecutive years. In 2019, Lillard scored a long three-pointer and entered the Western Conference Finals - that was the closest Trail Blazers to the championship in the past 20 years.

But the problem is also obvious: the double gun attack is strong and the defense is weak, and the bench is full of loopholes. After Aldridge, Batum and Matthews left the team collectively in 2015, the team could only rely on two guns to support it. Later, Nurkic came, and his record increased from 23 wins to 37 wins, but his defense was still the last in the league. General Manager Orsey "changed soup but not the medicine" every year, and fans were stomping their feet when they waited.

3, Lillard left, and the reconstruction was finally serious. Orsey was dismissed in 2021, Kroning took office, and the Trail Blazers' script changed completely. Cronin did three major things:

First, sending Lillard away, and squeezing out the final value. In 2023, Lillard went to the Bucks, and the Trail Blazers exchanged Ayton, Holiday and a bunch of draft picks - this wave of operations, fans said, "Croning counted Lillard's trading value to two decimal places."

Second, remove the double guns, and make the veterans of the Qing Dynasty, and make them younger in all aspects. Send McClum away for Hart and the trading exception; send Holiday away for Brogdon and Rowe; choose Henderson in 2023, Klingen in 2024, and Yang Hansen in 2025 - I stocked up 7 potential stocks in three years, and the rookies' playing time is directly full.

Third, buy out Ayton and make room for the newcomer. Ayton averaged 14.4 points and 10.2 rebounds last season, but his defense was soft and his attitude was questioned. The contract of 35.55 million in the 2025-26 season was more like a "time bomb". Kroning gritted his teeth and bought out and directly made Yang Hansen a possible substitute center. This operation, the fans said, "I finally won't raise the old man anymore."

4. The current Trail Blazers are very similar to the "Rookie Training Camp"

The oldest in the lineup is 33-year-old Holiday (just from the Celtics trade), and the others are young people under 25:

Henderson (21 years old, second place in 2023): Average 12.7 points and 5.1 assists per game. Although the data is not explosive, the control ability is praised by Billups as "like a reduced version of Kidd";

Sharp (22 years old, No. 7 in 2023 Show): Average of 18.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, and its physical talent exploded, which means that the three-point shooting percentage has just exceeded 30%, and its defense has made significant progress;

Klingen (21 years old, No. 7 pick in 2024): Average of 6.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.6 hats per game in the rookie season, with a top 10 in the league in the basket protection ability, and its offense is still polished;

Yang Hansen (20 years old, No. 16 in 2025): Chinese star, 17+9+5 in the World Youth Championship, the Trail Blazers customized a muscle building plan for him, with the goal being a "inside dealer".

But there are many problems: the three-point shooting percentage is 26th in the league, the assist rate is 3rd from the bottom, and Grant's five-year 160 million contract has become a "hot potato" (performing 14.4 points per game last season, shooting percentage of 37.3%). Croning has been saying recently: "Reconstruction is not about winning next year, it is for 2028."

5. Finally, I said two sentences: Regrets and hopes are all like basketball

From Oden's injury to Lillard's departure, the Trail Blazers' nearly 20 years of reconstruction history are full of regrets. But now, Henderson's calmness, Klingen's basket protection, and Yang Hansen's pass - the light in the eyes of these young people is very similar to Lillard when he first entered the league.

The most interesting thing about basketball is that "the old people leave, the new people come." The Trail Blazers missed Durant back then, but now they bet on Yang Hansen; Lillard carried the team alone, and now it was a group of young people who felt the stones across the river.

Perhaps in another 5 years, we will turn back and say, "In the summer of 2025, the reconstruction of the Trail Blazers has just begun."