All summer long, Bird has been contemplating what sort of playing style to bring to the current Trail Blazers.
Over the past decade, they have been very illustrious; in the late '80s and early '90s, the Trail Blazers have always been trendsetters in their style of play.
They were pioneers in utilizing the three-point shot and made the center three-point strategy a relatively standard tactic.
At the same time, many of the Trail Blazers' offensive concepts were innovative and counterintuitive, such as reducing passing to cut down on turnovers.
For example, they initiated a slow tempo to play more half-court sets and fully utilized isolation plays instead of team coordination.
These seemingly rebellious tactics allowed the Trail Blazers to lead the league in offensive efficiency for a long period.
In an era when data analysis was not yet widespread, the Trail Blazers were an enigma, and coaches often felt puzzled when facing them.
