3 potentially disgruntled superstars for the Portland Trail Blazers to monitor
By Andy Quach
Following their acquisition of Larry Nance Jr., the Portland Trail Blazers have secured their deepest and most complete team since their Western Conference Finals appearance in 2017-2018, but they may still be a superstar away from true title contention.
Not only does the Nance trade make them a more well-rounded squad on the court, it also gives the team much more flexibility for future trades. The former Cleveland Cavalier is a starting-caliber forward, which gives the Blazers the ability to include an additional starter for any deal that could land them a true second star next to Damian Lillard.
Portland does have assets, but not nearly enough ammunition to land a true second option for a title team—barring any extraneous circumstances of course. We’ve seen multiple star players, like James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Kyrie Irving, tank their own trade value in the process of expressing their discontent with their current teams. If a similar situation arises in the upcoming 2021-2022 season, General Manager Neil Olshey and the Portland Trail Blazers brass should be ready with a desirable trade package.
The Portland Trail Blazers should monitor these superstars to see if they can take advantage of an impending breakup
Aside from Ben Simmons, most of the stars in the league seem content with their current situations, but that could change pretty quickly through the course of the early season. Here are the players most likely to grow tired of their tumultuous situations and demand a trade in 2021-2022.
Potentially disgruntled superstar the Portland Trail Blazers should monitor: Jaylen Brown
The Boston Celtics had a very interesting offseason in their own right, following an extremely disappointing gentleman’s sweep at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets.
Amidst a mini-implosion within the team and front office, Boston’s drama was buried under more pressing news such as Damian Lillard’s ambiguous threats. Some non-Celtics fans may have already forgotten that General Manager Danny Ainge amicably split with the team, and then Head Coach Brad Stevens was appointed to take his place.
Kemba Walker was shipped off after a short, injury-riddled stint with the NBA’s most historic team, Al Horford and Enes Kanter were brought back, and midseason addition Evan Fournier left in free agency.
It certainly seems like the Celtics took more steps back than they did forward, following a pretty drastic upheaval within the front office.
Jaylen Brown and the rest of the C’s seem happy to launch a mini-rebuild under new Head Coach Ime Udoka, but it could be possible that the former California Golden Bear could grow tired of playing in Jayson Tatum’s shadow and the reportedly toxic environment in Boston in general.
Perhaps Brown and new GM Stevens would agree that a change of scenery for the star-forward and a more complete reset around Tatum is the best path for both parties. If so, the Blazers shouldn’t hesitate to try to bring the two-way beast to Rip City.