There have been recent rumors centered around certain trade or free agent targets for the Portland Trail Blazers. Should they pass or pursue these guys?
Trade and free agent rumors are part of every NBA offseason. You could be a fan of the New York Knicks or the Portland Trail Blazers, and these rumors can be both exciting, and frustrating. Some of them amount to nothing, while others finish in blockbuster trades.
For the Blazers, they have a pivotal off-season coming up. They have all of their first-round picks moving forward, but just the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions to use. This may be around $15 million, but depending on who else they re-sign, they may not be able to use all of this and stay under the tax.
As a team, they are also on the clock as they try to maximize the prime years of the generational talent that is Damian Lillard. They need to find a starting three and four for the foreseeable future.
I don’t know if trading the house for a forward is the best solution, but if they come across a quality option available in trade, they may need to give up significant pieces to get it done.
The limit of $9 million a year with the midlevel in free agency is also difficult; this isn’t a massive amount of money to offer a free agent.