The Athletic’s John Hollinger filed an extensive report about the chatter he heard in Las Vegas during Summer League, and the Blazers played a featured role this year. As the former general manager and President of the Memphis Grizzlies, Hollinger is connected around the league and hears from many others during the June event. For the Blazers, his report is sometimes upbeat, but not always. A subscription is required for The Athletic, and we’ll only cover a few tidbits from a long write-up.
He opened with Portland’s surprise signing of Damian Lillard. Despite the energy in Rip City, “talking to people in the league in the wake of it, this one had people scratching their heads.