Rip City Project
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Portland Trail Blazers: A Potential Trade With Every NBA Team

By Spencer Poole

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 08: Khris Middleton #22 of the Milwaukee Bucks reacts after being called for a foul against the Golden State Warriors during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Chase Center on January 08, 2020 in San Francisco, California. 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 Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 08: Khris Middleton #22 of the Milwaukee Bucks reacts after being called for a foul against the Golden State Warriors during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Chase Center on January 08, 2020 in San Francisco, California. 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 Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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Portland Trail Blazers
Blake Griffin, Detroit Pistons (Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Detroit Pistons

Why It Makes Sense for the Portland Trail Blazers:

Blake Griffin’s contract is by most accounts one of the worst in basketball but too often people equate a bad contract with a bad basketball player. Yes, Griffin had an injury-plagued 2019-2020 in which he only played in 18 games and he looked downright bad at times. But the year before he arguably had the best season of his career after completely reinventing his game. Injuries sapped part of his world-class athleticism but he replaced that with an effective deep ball and elite passing for a big man.

The point is, Blake Griffin has proven he can fight through adversity and come out the other end a better player. The Pistons are on the rebuild and there may never be an easier moment to grab a player of his caliber. It’s worth taking the risk on, even if he only returns 80 percent as good as he was in his prime.

Why It Makes Sense for the Detroit Pistons:

Detroit is a team that’s at the moment going nowhere. With Andre Drummond moving to Cleveland in January, it’s clear that the Pistons are shedding cap to kick off another round of rebuilding.

Getting rid of Griffin’s contract should be one of their top priorities and Portland can give them a pretty decent package all things considered. Signing and trading Hassan Whiteside gives Detroit a quick replacement for Andre Drummond’s production at just half the cost salary-wise. Trevor Ariza can help with mentoring the Pistons young players or can be flipped again to a contender for more assets. And a 2021 first-round pick will give Detroit more draft capital to work with for their rebuilding process.