What can the Blazers do? 5 trades that help them become a contender.
The Blazers are a fiery tornado. They have incredible talents in Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Past those two, they have an amalgamation of young guys (Pat Connaughton, Jake Layman, Shabazz Napier, Noah Vonleh) with limited upside, Young guys with higher upside (Caleb Swanigan, Zach Collins) then a weird mix of veterans, ending with the ultimate wild card of Jusuf Nurkic. The immediate need they have is a 3-point shooting wing that is above 6'3, the listed heights of CJ and Dame. They believed this third guy could be Evan Turner but his lack of a 3-point shot condenses the floor when he shares the floor with Aminu and Nurkic.
These trades range from simple to extravagant. The main goal for a trade is to get below the luxury tax threshold this year so if the Blazers decide to pay Nurkic then they don’t have to pay the ugly repeater tax. I truly think the Blazers should try and keep Vonleh and Connaughton as they could be resigned on the cheap as value rotation guys. Paul Allen probably doesn’t care but if its easily avoidable, might as well do a trade to get under the tax.
Trade #1: Ed Davis for a future SRP
This is the simplest idea that the Blazers can do. OKC could really use him as a backup C. He’s a very good energy big that is an incredible offensive rebounder that can create extra possessions for any bench unit. This doesn’t affect much, it would mean more PT for Vonleh or to hand out to the younger guys like Collins or Swanigan.
Trade #2: Meyers Leonard to Atlanta.
The team I think that would work best for Meyers’ contract is Atlanta who could use another pick. This trade could be used with sending back Belinelli, Dedmon, or Muscala. I think any of these guys would instantly improve the Portland bench, it just takes convincing ATL that they can give up cap space to get another FRP.
ATL receives: Meyers Leonard, FRP (Top 10 Protection)
POR receives: One of Dedmon, Belinelli, or Muscala.
Trade #3: Evan Turner to Chicago.
Usually the rumors around POR/CHI trades is trying to offload Meyers but that does not work with the bigs they have. An easier trade for both teams is:
POR receives: Niko Mirotic and Jerian Grant
CHI receives: Evan Turner and Shabazz Napier and a FRP (Top 10 Protected)
This trade is conditional on Chicago accepting the team option on Niko’s contract for next year. This allows Niko to be traded anywhere and negates his no trade clause. It’s tough for Chicago, they give up a fan favorite, but picking up a FRP while getting a guy who can legitimately guard 3’s, while also taking a flyer on Shabazz and having his Bird Rights should be reason to take that extra year of salary. ET is also a perfect tank guy, who is a great guy to be around but isn’t good enough to win your team games. Embrace the tank Chicago. This also helps lock in a guy in Jerian who can eat up backup PG minutes on a rookie contract. The salaries also get Portland under the luxury tax.
Trade #4: Bring Harry B in.
POR in: Harrison Barnes, Dwight Powell
DAL in: Evan Turner, Meyers Leonard, Top 10 Protected FRP
This is probably my favorite trade of all 5.
Dallas embraces the tank and accepts lower amounts of money from ET, and a touch more money on the Powell/Leonard Swap. They focus on getting younger and building through the draft around Dennis Smith.
Portland loves this because their closing lineup of Dame/CJ/Nurk/Aminu/Barnes can close against almost any team. Barnes is a very good upgrade over ET. Barnes can shoot and leave the paint open for Nurk to roll into and flip it to the corners with Aminu and Barnes ready to cash in, you would need another move to get under the luxury tax line this year, but I think in order to compete this type of move needs to happen.
I thought about a Noel addition to this trade but his value is so low around the league if you want him, you can get him in the summer for cheaper than the 17 mil a year he turned down this past summer.
Trade #5: This is wild.
POR/ORL trade
POR Receives: Aaron Gordon, Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier
ORL receives: CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, Jake Layman
This is a bit out there. I get that. But might be the mix-up each team needs.
Orlando needs a new franchise cornerstone that can create his own offense. CJ can do just that. CJ, Jon Isaac, and hopefully Doncic/Porter utterly transforms their team from the track they are on right now. CJ would be the oldest but at 26 and locked up you have a cornerstone to build around in, while also tanking this year to draft another dynamic offensive player, to pair with Isaac and Nurkic. This team could easily be in the playoffs next year with how lousy the bottom of the east is.
For Portland, this adds a dynamic 4 in Aaron Gordon who is much better than Nurkic. You pair him with Vuc, who can stretch the floor and shoot 3’s and provides more space for Dame/AG/ pick and rolls. Also having an absolute crazy athlete in Gordon to throw lobs to takes the top off the defense. Fournier is a nice two guard that can shoot and create his own shot at 6'7". Another option would be to do a Ross and Hezonja pairing instead of Fournier to aid the Blazer bench.
This is just crazy enough that it could work for each team.
Blazers should really looking at any option it takes to really go for it and make the team better in these next few years. You shouldn’t waste any more time of Damian’s prime years. You wasted one year due to the cap spike of 2016.
It’s time to put all your chips in the Damian bucket and cash in.
