Rip City Project
Fansided

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
16 of 30
Next
Portland Trail Blazers
Brandon Clarke, Memphis Grizzlies (Photo by Brandon Dill/Getty Images) /

Memphis Grizzlies

Why It Makes Sense for the Portland Trail Blazers

It takes little persuasion to justify why this is a great trade for Portland, especially long-term. Brandon Clarke is one of the best young players in the game and is fresh off an appearance on the All-Rookie First Team.

On offense, Clarke brings an incredibly efficient game, especially for a rookie. His field goal percentage of 61.8 ranked fifth in the NBA, only behind players who play exclusively at the rim. And unlike the players in front of him, Clarke has a bit of spacing to his offense. He shot 36 percent from deep on over an attempt per game and shot a Carmelo Anthony-esque 54 percent on shots between 10 and 16 feet.

Defensively Clarke was by all accounts solidly above average, a promising sign for a rookie. He showed versatile potential, spending over 20 percent of his time defending smaller guards and spending nearly 15 percent of his possessions guarding center. Clarke showed that he can stuff the defensive stat sheet as well, with 0.9 steals and 1.3 blocks per 36 minutes.

Clarke would be a perfect fit into the Blazers rotation, who are lacking a quality power forward. Even better, Clarke is on a rookie contract through the end of the 2022-2023 season. Leaving cap room wide open for Portland to improve other positions.

Why It Makes Sense for the Memphis Grizzlies

This may be a bit of a hard sell for Memphis fans after Clarke’s rookie season but I’ll try my best.

The Grizzlies are still on the hunt for a long-term backcourt partner next to Ja Morant. While Dillon Brooks did perform adequately as the starting shooting guard this season, Memphis fans should be questioning his fit with the team. At the end of the day, he is a rather inefficient scorer who provides little on the defensive end and is more suited for quick scoring off the bench as the sixth man than as a starter.

Enter Gary Trent Jr. a young shooting guard with a lethal three-point shot and defensive versatility for days. Trent has plenty of experience playing with a ball-dominant player such as Morant and proved himself as an elite catch and shoot player in the bubble. His defensive ability and versatility can help make up for Morant’s slight shortcomings on that end of the court, which were only compounded by Dillon Brooks.

Although he will be looking for a payday at the end of the 2021 season, Trent should command no more than the 11 to 12 million that Brooks is making already.

The 16th pick gives Memphis another pick in the mid-first-round in what is projected to be a very deep draft. The Grizzlies could use either of these picks to draft a replacement for Clarke or to trade up into the top 10 and select an elite prospect of their choosing.

Memphis gets a long-term backcourt partner for Morant and another first-round pick in a very deep NBA draft, not a bad haul for a player as talented as Brandon Clarke.