4 trades to make the Portland Trail Blazers instant title contenders

This year’s playoffs run proved the Portland Trail Blazers are on the cusp of greatness. Here’s a few moves that would help push the team over their rivals.

After a thrilling playoff run that led to a trip to the Western Conference Finals, the Portland Trail Blazers were the closest they’ve been this century to ending their championship drought. Damian Lillard’s success inspired enough faith in the front office to give him a $191 million supermax extension.

This move sent a clear message to the rest of the league; this is the Blazers’ moment, their window is now. Led by one of the best backcourts in the league in Lillard and CJ McCollum and exciting young big men like Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins,  Portland desperately need to make one final move to tilt the scales in their favor for next year’s playoff run.

While the Blazers may be strapped for cap room, this summer’s upcoming crop of free agents will also bring in many suitors looking to shed quality players with bloated contracts. If there’s one thing Blazers fans are all too familiar with, it’s bloated contracts. Portland can capitalize on these teams itching to make a bold move while maintaining the team’s current chemistry.

In the following slides, we’ll explore a few potential moves the Blazers could make to become title favorites without mortgaging the core of a team many have come to love.