Portland Trail Blazers Christmas Wishes, Part 4

As the Portland Trail Blazers head to Utah to face the Jazz on Christmas Day, the Blazer’s Edge Staff is compiling a list of Christmas wishes for the team. We asked each staffer to give one, simple wish to improve Portland’s lot. We’ll present them to you throughout the holiday.

Next up is Ryne Buchanan.

This year, if I could have one Trail Blazers-related Christmas wish, it would be for a rotational shakeup to take place.

I’ve written about this before, but seeing as things remain as inconsistent as ever, it bears repeating. The current bench unit is far too streaky to warrant keeping rookies Anfernee Simons and Gary Trent Jr., or even Wade Baldwin IV from seeing relevant playing time. Simons and Trent, especially, would appear to factor more into the team’s future than the likes of Nik Stauskas and Seth Curry. Simply put, Sauce and Curry haven’t performed well enough to justify preparing the team for the future.

If the Blazers were winning games, it would be a different story. The case for the current group is that they probably give you the best chance to win now. However, as the losses pile up, it would make more sense to me to start actively preparing for the years ahead, rather than going all-in on what is likely a futile effort this season.