The Portland Trail Blazers find themselves in the NBA rumor mill after reports surfaced that they had talks with the Dallas Mavericks involving Anthony Davis back at the February trade deadline.
Speculation about who the Blazers targeted started a few days earlier at Joe Cronin’s exit interview. He noted that the new owner, Tom Dundon, was willing to take on a big contract to acquire a specific player.
Cronin made it clear that Dundon was ready to write the check and that spending for a star was not a concern to the owner.
When Cronin said that, it was easy (and fair) to wonder if the GM was building up the new owner. After all, Dundon’s name has been dragged through the dirt in recent weeks. “El Cheapo” isn’t a flattering nickname, and it’s especially problematic for a new majority owner trying to make a good first impression.
After exit interviews, AD’s name came to light. A report came out that the Blazers will pursue Davis again this summer on the cheap—that is, if their grand Giannis Antetokounmpo pursuit flames out.
Truly, that is a lot to process for Blazers fans, who have heard rumor after rumor, year after year, decade after decade—all without ever seeing the team trade for a true star in his prime.
If nothing else is clear, understand this: Cronin’s hype-up of Dundon’s checkbook seems real. Maybe it turns into Giannis. Maybe it turns into AD. Maybe it doesn’t turn into anything.
But regardless, for maybe the first time in franchise history, it seems like we’re on the cusp of a major star joining Portland, via trade.
That’s exciting, and it’s worth thinking about who could be on the Blazers’ radar at this point in the offseason.
Anthony Davis
There’s no better place to start than with the player whose name fueled this fire.
Davis is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer. He was the No. 1 pick in 2012—the same draft as Damian Lillard—and he remains one of the best two-way bigs the league has to offer.
That said, at 33 years old and with a history of injuries, you’d have to retain way more of your future assets than you would in, let’s say, a Giannis deal to feel comfortable.
Still, the thought here is intriguing. Davis has always been better as a 5 than a power forward, but Portland has its center of the future in Donovan Clingan, meaning you’re playing them side by side and sliding Davis back down to the 4, where he’s spent most of his career.
Davis, though, would boost a defensive identity that already bolstered its reputation this past season. And if there are perimeter defense concerns at guard, AD and DC would help clean up a lot of that.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
If there is one player on the market where price matters a lot less, it’s Giannis because the Blazers will be willing to pay a premium for the two-time MVP and NBA champion.
If Cronin is serious about a Giannis pursuit, every single future Bucks pick is on the table. That’s a given considering those picks were acquired in the 2023 Damian Lillard trade, and, with all respect to Dame, Giannis is on a different level as far as what he should command in a trade.
Beyond the picks, Jerami Grant feels like a guarantee to be dealt, not just because his contract helps match salary in a deal, but because the Blazers need to clear a spot at power forward. And from there, it’s all about how Cronin negotiates with Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, likely to come up in offers, and if he’s willing to budge on players like Deni Avdija and Donovan Clingan, who seem “untouchable” but might be what tips the scale.
Kawhi Leonard
With the Bucks’ picks in hand, Portland can enter the chat for literally any star on the market this summer.
That list of stars could include Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard’s time in L.A. has generally been a disaster. Don’t get me wrong—he’s been great most of the time. He remains one of the most effective two-way perimeter players in the game, and he looks like a No. 1 option on offense … when healthy.
His health concerns, like Davis’s, mean you might be able to get him at a more affordable rate than you would have a few seasons ago. At their talent levels, both feel worth the risk up to a certain price.
Kawhi, in particular, would add to the defensive intensity the Blazers have adopted, especially assuming you keep Toumani Camara.
Picture that, by the way: Kawhi and Toumani subbing in and out for each other to guard the other team’s best player.
It’s the stuff dreams are made of. And right now, it feels like a real possibility.
Domantas Sabonis
Domantas Sabonis is an ultra-skilled big man tailor-made for the modern NBA. But he might also have negative trade value in the year 2026.
That, of course, has to do with his contract. Absolutely nobody—including his own team, the Sacramento Kings—wants to pay him $94 million over the next two years.
That’s especially true after he played just 19 games this past season, and with his points-per-game average dipping to 15.8 PPG in those contests.
With Sabonis’ scoring, rebounding, and playmaking skills, the Blazers would finally have a big man who can be a focal point of the offense, taking pressure off Lillard in his comeback year and Avdija in the half-court game.
Also, how cool would it be to have Sabonis 2.0 don the red, white, black, and pinstripe?
Next season is going to be all good vibes with Dame coming back anyway. Nobody would fight to keep it going.
Trey Murphy III
When Cronin teased fans and the media during his exit interview, hinting at a big-name player Portland was targeting in February, fans immediately assumed Trey Murphy III was the one.
It’s easy to see why. The math, when it comes to the tax bill, Dundon would’ve swallowed to make it happen. Murphy, a fifth-year veteran for the New Orleans Pelicans, is the type of two-way player Portland covets, with an emphasis on his three-point shooting.
Murphy is a career 38.2 percent three-point shooter who has averaged better than 21 points per game across the past two seasons.
The Pelicans are a team many assume will part with core pieces if enough draft capital comes their way.
Murphy shouldn’t command the same return as Giannis. But the Blazers have those precious Bucks picks, and if they were flipped for a player of Murphy’s caliber, they’d be assets well spent in Portland’s pursuit of real contention.
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