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Trail Blazers: 3 impact trades to help ease Jusuf Nurkic’s eventual return

By Ryan Gaskin

PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 25: Jusuf Nurkic #27 of the Portland Trail Blazers reacts in the fourth quarter against the Brooklyn Nets during their game at Moda Center on March 25, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. 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 Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 25: Jusuf Nurkic #27 of the Portland Trail Blazers reacts in the fourth quarter against the Brooklyn Nets during their game at Moda Center on March 25, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. 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 Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Option No. 3: Blake Griffin

Finally, we have Blake Griffin. Not as smart as the Draymond trade, but more exciting than the Kevin Love, bringing Griffin in would offer the Blazers tremendous offensive upside — they’d be getting a star.

Like Kevin Love, Griffin has his fair share of injury issues; the All-Star has missed a good amount of postseason action. Rip City will remember Griffin going down in 2015, when they overturned a 0-2 deficit on the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. Most recently, Griffin was unavailable for Detroit Pistons’ series vs the Bucks in the 2019 playoffs, and still hasn’t played this season.

But despite this, he’d be worth the risk. Griffin does not just operate inside the paint anymore, he’s expanded his game way beyond this. Last year, Blake Griffin took 7 three’s a game, and hit them at a rate of 36 percent. This isn’t even the most impressive stat. Griffin also took 225 pull-up jumpers last season — of the 58 players who also took over 200 pull-up jumpers, only Steph Curry and Kevin Durant had a higher effective field goal percentage.

Blake Griffin’s jump-shot used to be a joke, it was laughable. Now? He’s a threat from everywhere on the court, and would provide Portland with a dynamic and explosive offense. Alongside Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, the Griffin and the Blazers could outscore plenty, and his presence would give McCollum in particular a lot more open looks.

Griffin’s current contract situation is another reason to consider this deal. His contract expiring lines up with Dame and CJ’s big extensions, which would give Portland the needed flexibility to pay Jusuf Nurkic, which they are most likely planning to do. If the Bosnian doesn’t skip a beat on his return, he’ll likely turn into an All-Star, and will need to be paid big eventually.

However, as talented as he is, Griffin would not be able to cover the center position, so if Portland used Whiteside’s expiring contract to swing this deal, they’d either be using Skal Labissiere as the back-up center for the postseason, or trusting Zach Collins with the role. This all depends on Nurkic’s health status. If he returns and looks playoff-ready early on, the Blazers could flip Whiteside and trust Nurk will be fine for the playoffs. This means they retain Zach Collins, who has big upside, and are rolling out a starting 5 of Dame, CJ, Hood, Griffin and Nurkic. That, is a championship caliber team.

Here is the trade I went with.

Next. Why the Blazers should sign Joakim Noah over Faried. dark

The Portland Trail Blazers will have questions to answer when Jusuf Nurkic returns, but these are good questions. Nurkic returning gives them the keys to pursue a star, and the ability to make a real run at the title this year. Landing any three of these players would give Portland an incredible roster, and Trail Blazers fans should be extremely excited.