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Trail Blazers: There’s a chance there may be no trades at the deadline

By Stevie Cozens

WASHINGTON, DC -  JANUARY 3: Mario Hezonja #44 and Kent Bazemore #24 of the Portland Trail Blazers hi-five during a game against the Washington Wizards on January 3, 2020 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2020 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC -  JANUARY 3: Mario Hezonja #44 and Kent Bazemore #24 of the Portland Trail Blazers hi-five during a game against the Washington Wizards on January 3, 2020 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2020 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Fans want a trade. The Trail Blazers aren’t getting any better, they are below .500 and have expiring deals. There is a chance that they make no moves though.

This Trail Blazers team isn’t one to make panicked trades. Yes they have the expiring deals, but there is a chance that other teams that are active in the trade market don’t want what this team has.

The contracts of Hassan Whiteside and Kent Bazemore are large ones. The trades that this site and others have proposed are probably pretty similar to what Neil Olshey and others are thinking, but the key problem is that teams may not want to take on Bazemore or Whiteside.

If the Blazers are taking on long-term money then that means the other team gets an expiring and then cap space in the 2020 market. The 2020 market has very few big name free agents so unless a team has a specific player or needs in 2020, then this doesn’t make sense for them.

It would be harsh to judge the front office and slander them for not making moves at the deadline. We don’t know the reasons as to why teams potentially wouldn’t trade with them, so we have to sit tight and trust that they are doing everything in their power to improve the team.

There is a chance no one wants our expiring deals. If this is the case then fans need to be prepared. This doesn’t mean the front office hasn’t tried to make trades, just that they weren’t able to pull the trigger.

There aren’t a massive out of difference makers on the market so making a trade and bringing back a strong forward option may be tough. Especially if we don’t want to give up our first round pick. It’s understandable not wanting to give up our first-rounder, as we may end up in the lottery. With the new lottery odds we would want to keep this pick.

There is still a good chance a deal is made, with the big rotation being our weakest point it’s looking more likely that Bazemore gets moved instead of Whiteside. Baze is struggling bigtime offensively, and the small forward is such an important position scoring wise in the NBA.

The return of Jusuf Nurkic around the all-star break could be huge for this team defensively. He transformed this team on the less glamorous end of the floor when he was traded to the Trail Blazers from Denver in 2016.

Next. Three scenarios for the Trail Blazers at the trade deadline. dark

His boxing out, combined with excellent rim protection and great positioning means he is a real all-rounder on defense. With his pending return in early February, combined with the potential return of Zach Collins in March, if this team doesn’t make any moves, we could still make a run at the eight seed.

If no trades are made then this team still has two starters returning in the next two months to bolster the lineup. Maybe there wont be a trade, but we would much rather have no trades than pull the trigger on a bad deal that would hurt this team long-term.

Let’s wait and see how the trade deadline pans out and then see how Nurkic fits back in. It’s not all bad Rip City!