Portland Trail Blazers: 3 Potential LaMarcus Aldridge Trades

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Anfernee Simons Zach Collins Portland Trail Blazers (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Trade #1

This deal could work for both sides. The Blazers would be able to keep their big three of Lillard, Nurkic, and McCollum together, and Aldridge would make them immediate finals contenders.

The Spurs would receive two young prospects with upside in Zach Collins and Anfernee Simons plus a first round pick. Evan Turner‘s salary is included to make the deal work, but the Spurs would actually clear salary cap for the following summer since Turner’s $17.8 million is expiring.

Sure, it stings to lose Collins and Simons, but Collins has fallen out of the rotation and Simons is still very raw. The first round pick will likely land in the 20’s in a weaker draft class, plus the Blazers would receive a second-round pick to soften the blow. The front office has been attempting to balance the present and the future, but at some point, you have to commit to one timeline.