4 teams in real need of making a change at the NBA trade deadline

Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers, Lakers, Phoenix Suns, NBA Rumors
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers have an MVP candidate in Damian Lillard, but he needs some help. Jusuf Nurkic is injured again and C.J. McCollum is recovering from a left mid-foot fracture without a return date in sight. If they are to remain afloat in the competitive Western Conference, they will need to make some moves.

Adding another point guard to the roster should be atop their to-do list. Even when they are 100 percent healthy, Lillard is the only point guard on the roster; McCollum will sometimes handle that role when second unit players are mixed in along with Anfernee Simons.

The impact they were hoping to receive from the acquisitions of Derrick Jones Jr. and Robert Covington has not played out exactly as the Trail Blazers had hoped. Covington has struggled with his jump shot and Jones isn’t providing the impact at small forward the team hoped for.

RELATED: NBA Trade Rumors: 3 intriguing future trade targets for Portland Trail Blazers to monitor

Right now, the Trail Blazers only have five players on the roster with a PER above the league average. Two of them, McCollum and Nurkic, are injured. Nasir Little averages only 11.7 minutes per game; Lillard and Enes Kanter are the other two players above league average.

The Trail Blazers are hopeful they can get McCollum and Nurkic back to push them back up in the Western Conference standings. Finding another point guard and some help on the wing is a necessity for them to move back up the standings.

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