The Portland Trail Blazers did not make a blockbuster move at the trade deadline this year. But hey, there’s always next year’s deadline, right?
The NBA trade deadline has come and gone, with the Portland Trail Blazers adding two new players in Rodney Hood and Skal Labissiere. For fans hoping the club would make a splashy deal this February 7, the trades were understandably met with some groans.
Hood is a fine piece. And so long as he doesn’t fall apart down the stretch like last year, he could help take pressure off Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum in the postseason as a shot-creator. Meanwhile, Labissiere is an intriguing big man whose low asking-price makes him worth taking a chance on.
Still, we’d be lying to ourselves if we predict either of these guys pushing the needle in a meaningful way come April. For the cynic, welcoming these guys is parallel to welcoming another first round exit.
For the optimist: Hello, second round.
But let’s not act like the Blazers didn’t try to add talent. They were called “Dark Horses” in the Anthony Davis sweepstakes; other reports linked them to Nikola Mirotic; Zach Lowe mentioned them alongside Aaron Gordon and as possible suitors for Taurean Prince.
Who knows how close these deals actually came to getting done. At the very least, with so many established names connected to Portland leading up to the deadline, the optics were good. Maybe they even gave Blazers fans a little too much hope.
As we saw, the biggest deals of this year’s trade deadline centered around the team with the talented player exchanging them for future assets, like first-round draft picks and cap relief to chase big-named free agents this offseason.
The LA Clippers sent Tobias Harris to the Philadelphia 76ers for Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, two first-round picks (2020, 2021 via MIA), and two second-round picks (2021, 2023). Shamet is on a rookie contract, while Chandler and Muscala’s deals will expire after this year. Essentially, the Clippers dealt Harris for four draft picks while maintaining open cap space to go after their coveted 2019 target, Kawhi Leonard.
The Dallas Mavericks dealt Harrison Barnes to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Justin Jackson and Zach Randolph. In doing so, the Mavs rid themselves the risk of Barnes exercising his $25.1-million player option next season while taking on Jackson’s rookie deal and Randolph’s expiring one. Dallas then opens up cap for this summer’s free agency to load up for a new roster centered around Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis.
The Washington Wizards exchanged Otto Porter, Jr. for the Chicago Bulls’ Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker. Porter is set to earn $27.25-million next season with a player option the following year, while Portis’s rookie deal finishes this year and Parker’s contract expires with a team option. The Wizards – a team in constant flux this year – dealt Porter to get themselves under the luxury tax, as they understood paying an exorbitant amount of money to barely make the playoffs is simply not worth it.
Looking at these trades, it can be easy to wonder why the Blazers weren’t able to sway one of these teams to take a chance on, say, Zach Collins instead of Justin Jackson. However, that perspective may be too based inside a vacuum.
The simple fact was that Portland had very little in the way of expiring money and were, by accounts, only putting this year’s first-round pick in play.
Teams angling to make a big move in free agency this summer, or save money this season, would not take on contracts with two years left like Maurice Harkless, Evan Turner, or Meyers Leonard‘s and tie up their cap. The Blazers’ sweetener, a 2019 pick likely in the 20s in a shallow draft class, probably didn’t seriously interest many organizations.
But there’s always next year, right?
This notion is always a comforting one, and there’s reason to believe Portland could be in a better position to make a bigger splash in February 2020.
After all, those same contracts (Harkless, turner, Leonard) will be expiring next season. Plus, although it’s early to tell, many draft analysts believe next year’s draft to be much deeper than this year’s, making a Portland first-rounder more enticing.
However, so much of what made this deadline’s deals center around expiring money was the loaded 2019 free agency class. While there could always be another Washington looking to move on from a solid player to save money, there won’t always be guys like Kawhi, Harris, Kevin Durant, Kemba Walker, Kyrie Irving, Khris Middleton, and Nikola Vucevic available in July.
Outside of Anthony Davis, 2020’s free agent crop will be a lot more ordinary. As The Athletic’s Danny Leroux pointed out, the group is thin in star power at every position. Beyond AD, Draymond Green, Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, Derrick Favors, and Montrezl Harrell headline the list. There are some interesting players who will have player options to decide on, like DeMar DeRozan, Andre Drummond, and Hassan Whiteside, but even they are not held in the same regard that this year’s group is.
There will still be some teams angling to sign one of these guys and others putting all their eggs in the AD basket, but don’t count on as much excitement over next season’s summer – especially as some of the bigger market teams are making their plays now.
The restricted free agency class promises names like Brandon Ingram, Jaylen Brown, Pascal Siakam, and Dejounte Murray. So, there could certainly be smaller market teams trying to clear cap to make an above-value offer to one of them, betting they turn into a star and forcing their incumbent club to seriously consider how much they value them.
But the worry is that teams will be less inclined to give up high-level talent for a shot at signing one of 2020’s free agents. Expiring money will always be valuable, but it may not be as valuable come next year’s deadline.
This isn’t to say that holding onto guys with two years remaining on their contract in the hopes they eek out more value next season wasn’t smart. In a lot of ways, keeping Harkless, Turner, and Leonard could’ve been the right play – even if it wasn’t voluntary.
But it may not be fair to judge this year’s evaluation of expiring deals to their value next year, when the Blazers could be bigger players.
Although a big-time move couldn’t get done this February, Portland should be in a better position to make a blockbuster next season – but that is far from guaranteed.