Trade Package No. 3

This first hypothetical would see the Detroit Pistons acquire Jusuf Nurkic, Trevor Ariza, and Rodney Hood in exchange for sending Blake Griffin to the pacific northwest.

In each of these, the Portland Trail Blazers would have to pay a hefty price in players, for two reasons.

First, Griffin’s contract calls for him to earn $36.5 million next season. It also carries a trade kicker, worth $215,000. Secondly, the Trail Blazers will not part with either of their two highest-paid players, Lillard or McCollum.

From purely a salary standpoint — without involving a third team — this complicates matters.

To trade enough salary to acquire Griffin, the Blazers part with Nurkic, Ariza and Hood, all of whom hypothetically head to the Pistons. This would give Griffin a chance to contend, while giving Detroit a few notable pieces to build for the future.

Detroit hypothetically sends its 2021 first round pick to Portland as well, for taking on Griffin’s salary.