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3 trades the Portland Trail Blazers should target if Zach Collins’ injury lingers

By Austin Carroll

DALLAS, TEXAS - OCTOBER 27: Zach Collins #33 of the Portland Trail Blazers leaves the game against the Dallas Mavericks after a shoulder injury in the second half at American Airlines Center on October 27, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TEXAS - OCTOBER 27: Zach Collins #33 of the Portland Trail Blazers leaves the game against the Dallas Mavericks after a shoulder injury in the second half at American Airlines Center on October 27, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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Portland Trail Blazers
(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /

1. Aaron Gordon

While proven NBA stars like Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge have dominated Portland’s trade rumor mill for seemingly centuries, an unproven youngster hiding in the murky depths of Orlando may be the perfect fit for the Trail Blazers.

As a quickly improving talent on both ends of the court, Aaron Gordon is a competent shooter and defender. While his 3-point shooting percentages are far from elite, they’re improving each year and help stretch the floor to facilitate his incredible driving ability.

Gordon has gotten off to a very impressive start to the year on the defensive side of things, posting a 3.9 Defensive Box Plus/Minus (DBPM). While three games are hardly a sufficient sample size, this stretch of games support the notion Gordon can be a plus defender — having only posted a negative DBPM in one of his six seasons in the league.

Losing Kent Bazemore is less than ideal. He has thoroughly impressed in his short stint with Portland. But losing Collins to injury is an even more distasteful outcome. The Portland Trail Blazers do not have the depth to survive losing both Collins and Nurkic, and still remain atop the Northwest Division.

Thus, Bazemore becomes our unfortunate sacrificial lamb. He is a luxury. The Blazers need a solid starting five if they want to win a title. Gordon has proven to be an extremely well rounded player, posting averages of 16.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists over the past two seasons. Like we’ve seen with Mario Hezonja, perhaps there’s even more untapped potential there waiting to be discovered by a more competent coach staff and player development department.

Gordon also has the unique situation of being in a descending contract. While he is making $19.8 million for the 2019-20 season, he is set to earn $18.1 million and $16.4 million in the following two years. This could be a huge bonus asset for the Portland Trail Blazers as they maneuver around the salary cap and try to avoid dipping too deep into the luxury tax yet again.