Portland Trail Blazers Receive: C Andre Drummond

Cleveland Cavaliers Receive: C Jusef Nurkic, G Rodney Hood, F Zach Collins, POR 2022 1st Round Pick, POR 2025 1st Round Pick (Lottery-Protected)

Over the course of his career, Andre Drummond has averaged 13.8 rebounds/game and since 2015, has led the NBA in rebounds per game in four different seasons. Drummond is a low-post and more traditional big man who does not have an outside game, but he can still contribute to any team he is on and make a difference defensively.

Seeing as Jusef Nurkic is always injured and the fact that Zach Collins is “dead weight” to Portland this year, this is a trade that Portland could actually pursue. Nurkic, when healthy has been great for the Blazers, but can they really depend on him to remain healthy? He has played in just 20 games since the start of the 2019-20 season, which is a big concern for him and his future in Portland. 

Bringing in Drummond and having him take over the starting center position for the Trail Blazers not only gives them another weapon to utilize next to Damian Lillard, but gives this team three All-Star potential players when they are healthy.

The trio of Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and now Drummond could be really deadly and just what this team needs to make a legit championship run. On the other side of things, if this trade was to happen, it would likely be a multi-team deal as the Cavaliers have enough frontcourt players and definitely would not want Jusuf Nurkic. At $12.8M, plenty of teams would probably be interested in Nurkic, making it very easy to bring in one or two other teams into this deal. 

Zach Collins could be a guy the Cavaliers actually keep for a bit, not only because he is injured, but because he has shown glimpses into his potential. The same goes for Rodney Hood, who missed almost all of last season after suffering a torn Achilles. Hood played in Cleveland from 2017-19 and could be a key role player they utilize off-the-bench. 

Getting players who have yet to reach the peak of their careers and some first-round draft picks for Andre Drummond is definitely in the market of what the Cavaliers are looking for at this time. With that said, let’s take a closer look as to why this trade makes sense for both the Portland Trail Blazers and the Cleveland Cavaliers.