Does this trade make sense for the Portland Trail Blazers?

At this point, very few trades are a bad idea for the Portland Trail Blazers. They cannot get much worse than they currently are and avoiding the tax bill this season is definitely something that management would like to do. 

Even with Dame and CJ healthy, it is hard to imagine that this Blazers team can make a playoff run this season. Both players currently being out should make this front-office’s decision very clear. 

It is time to start cleaning house in Portland and the team needs to start with trading Robert Covington while he still holds some value. At 31-years-old and in the final year of his contract, the Blazers are not going to get a lot for Covington, but a second-round pick this season and Nerlens Noel allows them to begin planning for the future. 

Noel gives the Trail Blazers depth in their frontcourt with the pending free agency of Jusuf Nurkic and who knows, maybe the New York Knicks slip into the playoffs picture and this second-round pick would convey to Portland. 

LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: These 3 Teams Should Pursue Trade For Blazers’ Robert Covington

It is oftentimes hard to find a lot of value in the second-round of the draft, but the Blazers need to try and find ways to get younger. This draft pick at least gives them the ability to add another young prospect to their roster and/or continue adding talent via trades. 

Since joining the Knicks last season, Nerlens Noel has only averaged 4.7 points and 6.3 rebounds, but he has averaged 1.1 steals and 2.0 blocks in about 24 minutes per game.

LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: These 3 Teams Should Pursue Trade For Blazers’ Robert Covington

Defensively, you know what you are getting with Noel and Portland definitely needs to find ways to improve themselves on the defensive-end of the floor since they rank 29th in the league in defensive rating.