Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers have really struggled to find success over the years and while they have made the playoffs each of the last eight seasons, they really have not been championship contenders. They made the Western Conference Finals in 2019 but got swept by the Golden State Warriors in a series that was extremely lopsided.
Damian Lillard’s frustrations continue to mount each and every day the Blazers are not real contenders, which is why Portland is probably the biggest team to keep an eye on in regards to potential moves this season.
Their team is good the way it is contracted right now and they will likely make the playoffs again, but it is hard to believe that the Blazers have what it takes to make it out of the first round right now.
CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard can only carry this team so far, which is why they could be in the market to acquire a third All-Star-like talent at some point. There were talks of Ben Simmons possibly being a target for the Blazers this past offseason and while they could still trade for him, it is much more likely that guys like Myles Turner, Pascal Siakam, Jerami Grant, and Christian Wood will be players the Trail Blazers do their homework on.
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With Jusuf Nurkic being in the final year of his contract and not really being an explosive center, he is definitely someone that could wind up being on the move, as could veteran forward Robert Covington, who is also in the final year of his contract.
Along with Larry Nance Jr., who the team just acquired this past offseason, these are the Blazers’ best trade assets that they can offer up without relinquishing either Lillard or McCollum.
This front-office has to make a big move to change this team up if they are to be real contenders, which is why they will look to be big “buyers” at the trade deadline this season.
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If the Blazers fail to add another key talent to their roster, they will wind up sneaking into the playoffs, but they will not win their playoff series. As a result, this could have catastrophic consequences for this organization, one of which could be Damian Lillard requesting a trade in the offseason.
Portland needs to avoid this at all costs, which is why moving Nurkic, Covington, and others ahead of the trade deadline remains a big-time possibility.
