NBA power rankings week 13: Halfway mark, OKC Thunder hold steady

Portland Trail Blazers:

Offense: (109.9) 15th
Defense: ( 112.3) 24th
Net: (minus -2.4) 21st

Games Week 13 (2-2): Won vs. Hornets: 115-112, Rockets: 117-107, Lost vs. Mavericks: 112-120, Thunder: 106-119
Games Week 14 (3 games): Mon vs. Warriors | Thurs vs Mavericks | Sun vs. Pacers

One of the teams involved in trades this week found Kent Bazemore who the Blazers sought out (on two separate occasions) leaving before he even finished a full season with his new team.

While the squad looks destined for the lottery they seemingly remain committed to the chase pack and landing that playoff berth.

This was more a move about dollars and cents (or sense depending on how you view it).

Trevor Ariza came to the Kings hoping to be a factor but never fit in with his new crew. Perhaps it was partly the fit, regression or simply the style.

Whatever the true reason he’ll offer at least as much as Al-Farouq Aminu did for Terry Stotts. Which is a positive given the loss of Aminu and Mo Harkless has turned out to be far more costly than anyone realized.

Bottom line, something had to be done with the Blazers sporting the most expensive salary this season. While teams like the Golden State Warriors can afford to spend a season of carrying salaries (five straight title trips will give you that leeway) a club who’ve been to a Conference Finals once and looks more likely to miss the postseason altogether than they do replicating those efforts simply can’t afford to have the most expensive roster in the association.