Portland took a big leap forward this season with their first winning record and playoff berth in far too long, and only missed out on the hat trick of putting Damian Lillard back on the court in the same season by a mere six weeks.
Now, in full offseason mode, the time has come to tweak the roster so they can take the expected next leap, which includes a run to the conference finals and beyond.
The Trail Blazers are now 35 years removed from their most recent NBA Finals appearance. Which means a kid born in 1992 is now old enough to have their own kid graduating from high school this year. Yikes.
This team needs a spark, and a big one. They need to get over the conference finals hump, which they have not cleared in almost 4 decades. They are now 50 years removed from their only title; a person born that year has a grandchild halfway through high school. Double yikes.
So we turn to the trade machine to see who we can get to help this team go from a fun little story to the elite of the NBA. There are only two rules – you have to make legitimate trade offers that reflect the market value of the players involved, and you can only trade for players not currently playing for a team still in the playoffs. Everyone on teams that have already been eliminated is fair game.
We asked Bryant Knox (BK) and Casey Mabbott (CM) to use their wizardry to find trade partners that can fill Portland’s exact needs and make them a contender. Not tomorrow, not after breakfast, now.
- Before we get started, name three players (two starters and one reserve) and explain why you are saying that the team can’t trade them. These players will be your untouchables.
BK: Although the Blazers were better than expected this past season, it’s tough to find anyone who is truly untouchable in trades. That said, you have to start with your All-Star, Deni Avdija.
Avdija was the heart and soul of the offense this season, and that became even more apparent when he missed time with a back injury. He was a top-three candidate for Most Improved Player of the Year, and while some might see that as an opportunity to sell high, I’m looking at him as a player exceeding expectations, raising his own ceiling, and doing so on one of the most team-friendly contracts you’re going to find for a star in the NBA.
Speaking of All-Stars, I have to put Damian Lillard on the untouchable list. I’m counting him as a starter despite not knowing what next year’s rotation looks like. And I’m including him partly because you can’t re-sign him, build up his comeback, and send him packing like he’s Blake Griffin after getting the “Clipper for life” pitch from LA—but also because his shooting and offensive gravity will help fill a massive need entering 2025-26.
Off the bench, I’m protecting Yang Hansen. His season did not go as hoped. But this kid needs time to marinate. He’s raw, and, quite frankly, his trade value is lower today than it was when Portland traded back to get him in the draft a year ago.
Admittedly, it’s a bit of a copout to protect someone with such low trade value, knowing he might not be a major part of a potential piece anyway. But his international appeal is real, and it could tip the scales in negotiations with certain teams. For that reason, he’s out, both as an intriguing trade chip to keep down the line, and even more so as an intriguing player, whom fans need to give a little time.
CM: I’m going with Jrue Holiday first. You need an on-ball defender in this league who can also play multiple positions and has the tenacity to play both ends of the court. That’s Holiday to a “t’, and while he might lack some of the quickness and insane lockdown defense he was capable of earlier in his career, he is still one of the best two-way players in the league, and we aren’t here to trade away double-duty assets.
Second off the board is Toumani Camara. He’s another valuable player who does his job really well, and we need to keep him as there aren’t enough high-effort guys on both ends anymore. It used to be a staple of a starter in the league, but now you find guys slowing down their best player; you don’t necessarily line up with one guy and make sure you stick to your assignment. So we need Camara.
Lastly, I am keeping Lillard. I know he may not be a bench player when he is finally healthy, but right now, he is among the reserves, so that we can count him. He’s far too valuable when healthy to see him in another uniform (not again), and if this team is going to take a big leap forward next season, they need all the shooting they can get. Simply put: Few guys have shot as well as Dame has in his time in the league, if ever. We are keeping shooters and two-way players; everyone else, I can afford to look at trading.
- Even with Lillard returning, this team needs a defined face of the franchise, and it’s unlikely to be someone already on the roster today. They need an established star still in their prime. Which player would you target for this role?
CM: Deni Avdija was the 14th highest scoring player in the NBA in 2026. Portland did not have another player in the top 75. That isn’t going to work. You probably need a top-10 scorer to pair with Deni, but worst case, you need a second player in the top 25. Toumani Camara was #77 in the league. Having only one player score among the top 76 in the league is scary, given how good Portland was last season.
So you need to either get an established superstar, which likely means blowing up most of your roster, or you need to get a guy you think can pair with Deni (and Dame) to contribute on offense and hang inside the top 25, ideally, but definitely in the top 30. I would offer either Scoot Henderson or Shaedon Sharpe to Atlanta in exchange for Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
NAW was the 27th-highest scoring player in the league this season with nearly 21 points per game. He also played well on defense. He contributed a decent amount of assists and rebounds per game in addition to sinking three treys per game on average and a steal per game while limiting his turnovers and fouls to the bare minimum.
What more could you ask for? Portland needed a streaky shooter who could help in other areas and play defense against the Spurs, and even if they face another team in the playoffs next year, they will likely need something similar. Trading one of their young guards for an established player would net them what they already wanted from their own draft picks without having to give up much, and it would give the Hawks a more athletic guard with a higher ceiling and perhaps a longer runway to support that player since they are not competing anytime soon.
BK: The tempting answer here is Giannis Antetokounmpo, with the Blazers being in perhaps the best shape to enter the trade sweepstakes while owning so many future Milwaukee Bucks picks.
I think, though, that the Blazers should use those picks as leverage to get involved in Giannis trade talks as a third team, instead of outright trading for him.
If that’s the case, enter the chat, Jaylen Brown. In this scenario, Portland can build a trade package around Milwaukee’s picks—without having to include all of them. If the Blazers send Milwaukee two of their own picks and the Celtics also include a future first-rounder of their own, we’re in business.
The price tag, of course, would likely have to include both of Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson to the Bucks on top of Jerami Grant and that salary-matching contract. That might be too tough for some to swallow, but retaining future draft capital and not giving up your best player in Deni Avdija—not to mention other future cornerstones like Donovan Clingan or Toumani Camara—would feel like a win.
- Shooting is a big need this offseason. For a team that could score in bunches, they certainly struggled with traditional shooting and getting good looks in tight situations, often forcing bad shots from bad looks. Lillard playing and coaching can fix some of those issues, but you need more than one talented shooter to win in this league. Who would you target as your clutch shooter?
BK: I soooo want to say this team should target a couple of former Trail Blazers, like CJ McCollum or Norman Powell. But Powell’s price tag on the trade market might be higher than Portland should be willing to spend. And the team would have to get mighty creative cap-wise to bring back CJ, as he’s expected to have suitors in free agency after a pretty exciting little run in Atlanta.
A more realistic option is Duncan Robinson. He was just dealt to the Detroit Pistons last summer in a sign-and-trade deal, but in his six seasons with the Miami Heat, he became their all-time franchise leader in both three-pointers made and three-pointers attempted.
Robinson was traded at the time for Simone Fontecchio, leaving you to believe, as important as he was to Detroit’s pursuit of a No. 1 seed, that it wouldn’t take a haul to bring him in. In this scenario, I’m going the route of the Heat and sending out Matisse Thybulle in a sign-and-trade deal of his own to match salary. Beyond that, both Portland and Detroit could end up commanding a small batch of second-round picks. But the centerpieces are there regardless for a swap to take place.
CM: There are a few guys who fit this mold, and ideally, you could throw this player in at the four spot and split time with Camara, or put them at the two and play alongside Holiday or Dame while leaving Deni at the three. Michael Porter Jr would be a good fit for that role, and he may not require a huge swing to be taken away from the Nets.
Maybe doing a sign-and-trade with Robert Williams and a 2nd rounder would get the job done, but if they want more than that, maybe you offer Scoot or Sharpe for Porter Jr. The Nets would probably prefer that version, especially with Sharpe, as it would be a near wash in money, and they wouldn’t have to figure out what to do with an aging center past his best seasons. Brooklyn needs younger players to build a team around, and Porter Jr. is still in his prime, but has proven he is not going to be “THE” guy on your roster. Sharpe has proven something similar here, but may have more upside for a team still building and deciding who they want to be.
Porter Jr. can play elite defense, is a sneaky-good shooter, and is a solid rebounder. He would be perfect to help Portland get closer in size and length against some of the more talented teams out west.
- You need a WWE superstar down low in playoff games, someone who doesn’t spend half the game on the bench, and someone who doesn’t get tired fighting the other team’s best post players. The whistles are not as frequent in the playoffs, so you need your own beast out there to combat the opponent without help from the zebra crew. Do you think the team needs to target a forward or a center for this player?
CM: I think they need a backup center that can spell the young Cling Kong and provide valuable veteran support on the floor. Jay Huff of the Pacers would be an interesting target, as he plays tough and knows how to get some fouls in without being called. We know Indiana is seeking a permanent replacement for Myles Turner and wants someone who can help Tyrese Haliburton get back to the Finals.
Well, this seems like another time you could trade the Time Lord, or you can see if the Pacers want to take a chance on Yang Hansen, rolling the dice on a project, since Portland probably doesn’t have time to see what the young center has in his bag while they also wait to see what Clingan can do.
Ideally, Portland can keep Williams in town on a team-friendly deal, but he likely wants to be in a starting lineup, or at least compete to start somewhere, and that won’t happen here. But maybe he can fit the mold of the tough veteran center Indiana needs, and they can target their lottery pick on someone else.
If RWIII leaves for another roster, I would like to see a comparable player sent here, and Huff fits that mold of a guy who can get under the skin of some younger centers like Wemby in the playoffs and might be able to help our young center get into his prime years sooner rather than later.
BK: For the record: I’m hopeful Donovan Clingan will become this monster. There’s already proof in the flashes that he can get there, and, in many ways, he is already there part of the time.
That said, if the Blazers want to compete sooner rather than later, and specifically, fight the Alien Takeover that is Victor Wembanyama’s emergence with the San Antonio Spurs, they need a big body who can make a game ugly (within the rules) and frustrating.
On paper, that dude sounds like Steven Adams. Have you seen those videos of him breaking up fights by lifting players, who would otherwise be considered quite large, off their feet like they’re toddlers throwing a tantrum?
A more ambitious pursuit would be Draymond Green or Dillon Brooks. Personally, I don’t want those guys on my team. I don’t want to have to root for them. They’re perfectly fine staying villains in my book. And they’d cost a heck of a lot more than Adams, who we’d bring in, perhaps with some Rockets’ second-round picks, after a sign-and-trade of Robert Williams, who would love a chance to compete in Houston.
- Perimeter defense is a must when the game is on the line. You need a classic three-and-D player who can protect your lead by adding to it and can also prevent the other team’s best outside shooter in the waning moments of a must-win game. The best part is that this player does not need to be defined by a specific position; they can really play anywhere but center and still be effective. Who would you target for this role?
BK: What’s wild for the Blazers is that they already have a few guys who fit the bill here. Jrue Holiday has made a future-Hall-of-Fame career out of it. And Toumani Camara is on his way to becoming a household name for it.
But if you’re looking for someone else to come in and bolster that identity, look no further than New Orleans Pelicans swingman Trey Murphy III.
He would be the most expensive option as far as the trade market goes, and realistically, you’d have to choose between him and Jaylen Brown—not trade for both, since you likely give up too much draft compensation to make the deal work around just Jrue Holiday.
Bringing him in would be a direction-defining move for this team at this time. But again, so would Brown, which is where I’ll lean here.
CM: If you can keep Camara and Holiday and bring in a guy like Alexander-Walker to be a new starter, then perhaps you already have enough team defense without making another move. I don’t think this is a spot you need to take a big swing on, so names like Kawhi Leonard, Scottie Barnes, and Kevin Durant should not be on the table, since those are likely blockbuster trades to get them away from their current team, considering what it cost them to bring them in. And in the case of Barnes, Toronto is perfectly happy with what he is doing, so you would have to overpay, which likely means saying goodbye to Deni, which is not a trade I would support.
I would much rather see Portland trade for a defensive specialist they can roster without sacrificing a starter or a valuable draft pick. Wendell Moore Jr would be an easy target. He plays really well on defense and isn’t going to threaten anyone for floor time unless you need to shut down someone.
While Portland has been in trade rumors for Giannis Antetokounmpo, what about his brother Alex? He rarely gets time in Milwaukee; he has great defensive skills, and he has the height and length you would want to help cover an elite scorer in the postseason.
Either of these guys would pair great with Matisse Thybulle in a “have to have it” possession or series of possessions late in a playoff game. And you could probably get either one for a second-round pick or a reserve player we don’t need.
Sometimes, championship rosters aren’t just big names. Sometimes, you need a high-energy guy with length that can frustrate the hell out of a superstar. Sometimes you need the Dellavedova effect.
- What would your new Blazers roster look like next season? And do you think this is a championship roster?
CM: Day one starters would be Holiday, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Deni, Michael Porter Jr, and Clingan.
The reserves would look a lot different as we bring Lillard back to the fold to continue helping develop Scoot. We add Jay Huff and Alex Antetokounmpo to the second unit, pairing them with Camara, Hansen, and Thybulle.
We lose Robert Williams III and Shaedon Sharpe in trades, along with a 2nd round pick. It may not be as fun to watch at times, but I think you will see a more talented, better-shooting team as a result, one that can play team defense when it counts.
Yes, I think this is a championship roster; they will have the offensive firepower to compete with OKCs and the Spurs, but also the depth on defense to make those teams earn their points. I like their chances a lot, let’s make this happen!
BK: My starting lineup ends up being: Damian Lillard (1), Jaylen Brown (2), Deni Avdija (3), Toumani Camara (4), and Donovan Clingan (5).
Off the bench, we have Jrue Holiday at point, Duncan Robinson at the 2, Sidy Cissoko at small forward, Kris Murray at the 4, and Steven Adams and Yang Hansen splitting time at backup center.
The backup 3 and 4 spots might need an upgrade to truly compete, with an emphasis on power forward, if Murray doesn’t raise his ceiling. But the star power we’ve added in Brown alone elevates this team’s ceiling, and then the versatility we’ve added across the rotation raises our floor.
This is a championship-caliber roster. And it’s one the Blazers could really make happen this offseason.
Be the first to comment