Portland Trail Blazers: One trade with every team in the Northwest Division
By Andy Quach
We’re officially in the pits of the NBA news cycle and the Portland Trail Blazers are no exception. Aside from a very unneeded Ben Simmons update and training camp additions, Rip City hasn’t had any significant news since they traded for Larry Nance Jr. Luckily, the NBA trade machine never stops working!
Until there’s some actual updates to analyze or news to cover, I’ll breakdown one trade that I believe the Portland Trail Blazers should make with each team in the NBA, division by division.
These trades will be mostly balanced and as close to the realm of realism as possible, to keep things in perspective.
One trade the Portland Trail Blazers should make with each team in the Northwest Division
There’s no place like home so that’s where we’ll start, in the Trail Blazers own Northwest Division. There’s two contending rivals in the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets and two bottom-feeders in the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder, but every team has desirable talent if you’re creative enough.
1. The Portland Trail Blazers add a promising wing from the Oklahoma City Thunder
Why the Blazers do it:
Luguentz Dort already is everything the Blazers are waiting for Nassir Little to become. Little might have the higher ceiling due to his advantages in athleticism and fluidity, but Dort is the much more polished player.
Dort has already established himself as one of the top wing defenders in the league and his offense is quickly budding. He’s a decent 3-point shooter and is a tighter handle away from being a multifaceted scorer.
Even if his offense doesn’t progress any further, his abilities as a perimeter stopper and complementary scorer are more than enough to make this trade worth it for Portland.
Why the Thunder do it:
The Thunder are in full asset collection mode, and in this trade, they lose one asset and get three back in return. Nassir Little absolutely still has star potential, arguably more so than Dort. OKC has the time and opportunity he needs to develop, something that Portland may not be able to offer for awhile. Playing with no leash should only accelerate his growth as a scorer and defender.
Greg Brown III was a second-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, but looked like a first-rounder in the Las Vegas Summer League. Based on his elite athleticism alone, he’s worth a shot as a project.
Adding an additional future first-rounder to their war chest could turn out to be the biggest takeaway from this transaction though.