Portland Trail Blazers Roundtable: NBA Trade Deadline Preview

Do you think that the Blazers will make a move at the deadline?

Jakob Ashlin (@JakobAshlin): I believe that they will make a smaller deal to add a role player. They have been linked to players like Jeremy Lin  and Tristan Thompson. Olshey has been hesitant to make any significant trades in the past, and, with the team thriving right now I doubt he does anything major.

Doug Patrick (@Doug_Patrick_): With the strange ownership situation and how many players the Blazers have had in and out of their rotation, there’s no certainty that a deal happens this year. However, Portland has been floated around in a number of rumors, from Carmelo Anthony to Trevor Ariza to Jeremy Lin. These rumors may just be people throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks, but it would appear the Blazers are interested in making a move. I don’t think they will, unless it seems like it’ll be a needle-pushing one or one that clears cap for next summer – with the way the team is performing, I feel like it’d be tough to justify shaking things up.

Josh Gutbrod (@JoshGutbrod): I believe the Blazers will make at least one move before the deadline. I feel that the Blazers almost have to. The team is playing well and in contention for another division title. That said, this is essentially the same Blazers team we’ve seen the past few years. Some players have improved and some have regressed, but it’s still the same group. That would lead one to think that the ceiling for this Blazers team is a second round exit. With the right move, that ceiling may rise for this season and seasons to come.

Shade Piper (@theLob_Shade): I think they will make some sort of move but I think it will be a move that isn’t as exciting as what we all are hoping for. Probably something along the lines of trading away a bad contract.

Trenton Corn (@theLob_Trenton): Portland is currently sitting at the 4th seed in the Western Conference. Because of that, I don’t expect them to make a move at the deadline. If they were to make a move it would be a very minor deal. I don’t expect them to make a blockbuster move.

Aaron Gershon (@agershon99): It’s hard to predict whether or not Portland will make any deadline moves. They certainly do not have a history of making any earth-shattering moves but do like to make smaller ones. This year, however, based on what happened in last year’s postseason and the West is a little more open than usual there’s no reason why the Blazers shouldn’t go for it and go get a significant role player to upgrade their team heading toward the playoffs. Thus, I do believe a move is coming in Portland.