2010-2011 Finish: 38-44

What went well

It depends if you are a glass half empty or glass half full type of person: either the Blazers made the playoffs because of GM Colton's ingenious way of running the team or the other teams in the Western Conference just plain sucked. One thing is certain, the team certainly fared better than the 18-64 record from the season before.

Pretty much everyone with an expired contract took off when the new season unfolded, namely Jawad Williams, Shawne Williams, Vladimir Radmanovic, Tracy McGrady, Acie Law, Richard Hamilton and Francisco Elson. Only Carlos Arroyo wanted to stick around for more (and then he would be sent to the Jazz for GM points). With new freshly minted rookie John Wall to build around, GM Colton had to start from scratch and build the Blazers up from nothing. With extra salary cap room, they took on Ronny Turiaf, Solomon Jones, Marcin Gortat and Mehmet Okur. He then convinced Josh Childress and Shaun Livingston to town via free agency. Finally, he mailed Kirk Hinrich to the Jazz for Linas Kleiza, a player he acquired and then traded just a few months before.

The Blazers played decent ball, easily surpassing the 18 win mark. Colton continued to tinker, sending away Nick Collison for Kyle Korver and Dexter Pittman. Somehow the team managed to eke into the playoffs. Colton did the victory dance and shook his butt at Boyd and the rest of the detractors. Most of us just laughed and remembered how good the Blazers used to be before he took over.

What went bad

Carmelo Anthony and the Mavs obliterated the Blazers in the first round. If Stephen Graham is your #2 scorer, you know there are issues. But hey- no one expected the Blazers to make it that far. So good on you, Colton.

Looking to the future

Following the draft, Colton made a deal that could change the Blazers for the good. Somehow he convinced new Nets GM Proid to give up Andre Iguodala, Dahntay Jones and Craig Brackins for Okur, Korver and Childress. Paired with Wall and Gortat, Iggy makes the beginnings of an exciting Portland team.

The rest of the team is a mess and Colton needs to be proactive about cleaning it up. CJ Miles could conceivably join the starting lineup, but he really needs to get a power forward to join them. Ekpe Udoh has potential but he is better off the bench. Moving out Livingston and Turiaf would help for sure. But the team needs to care and the Insider isn't sure GM Colton is the best man for the job. In the draft, guard Travis Leslie could prove to be a steal with his stellar defense. Too bad he can't shoot that well. Portland really doesn't have enough cap space to be a free agency wheeler dealer. It will have to be done through trading. Is Colton up to the task?