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Next for the Blazers: Creating a contender around Damian Lillard

Damian Lillard's scintillating performances in the seeding games carried Portland to the playoffs. Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

It is best to break this year's Portland Trail Blazers into two teams.

The first team was one decimated by injuries, finding itself outside of the top eight in the Western Conference when the season was suspended.

The second team made the playoffs behind Damian Lillard (MVP of the seeding games), CJ McCollum, Gary Trent Jr. (a Sixth Man of the Year candidate) and a healthy Jusuf Nurkic,

Now heading into the offseason, the Trail Blazers focus turns to possible extensions for Trent, Nurkic, Zach Collins, and their own free agents: Carmelo Anthony and Hassan Whiteside.

Note: The financials in here are based on the salary cap and luxury tax holding at the 2019-20 levels, as expected.

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