The Portland Trail Blazers have had a rough December after a .500 start and could be aggressive in the mid-season trade market
Portland also will have as many as ten players from this roster become free agents this offseason and have more than $90 million committed to their top three players next year. That leaves them only about $20 million to finish off the roster.
Interim GM Joe Cronin supposedly has free rein to make the deals he wants; how true that is will reveal itself over the next few months. But we’re going to slip into his seat and make our case for which players should be kept or dumped.
Damian Lillard: keep
The rest of the league wants Lillard, yes. But he has demonstrated as much loyalty and dedication to the franchise that drafted him as perhaps any player in NBA history, given what the organization has placed around him. If next year rolls around and the Blazers are still struggling to get to .500 we can revisit this, but for now he’s going nowhere.
CJ McCollum: dump
“Dump” is too nasty a word to use with McCollum. He’s been a model teammate and citizen and the city of Portland will be worse off with his loss. But the Blazers have gone as far as they can with he and Lillard paired in the backcourt, and they need some defense from his position. Sadly, he’ll probably be gone by the trade deadline.
Norman Powell: keep
Powell has the longest contract of any current Blazer; it takes him through the 2025-26 season, when he’ll make a little less than $20.5 million. He’ll be a tremendous value at that number at 33 years of age, barring injury.
Robert Covington: dump
We’ve made no secret here about how we feel about Covington’s instincts and effort this season, and his near-$13-million expiring contract and 3-point shooting ability make him a decent trade asset. To paraphrase Dale Watson: “Don’t let the locker room door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya.”
Jusuf Nurkic: keep
This is a complete reversal of what I have been recommending most of this season, but Nurkic’s recent sometimes inspired play and clear rapport with Lillard make him a keeper, at least until season’s end. His $12 million expiring deal could help the Blazers in a sign-and-trade, and if they can flip McCollum and some other pieces for a top-tier defensive center, they could rely on Nurkic for the 18-22 minutes per game he appears capable of playing intensely before fouling out.
Anfernee Simons: dump
Again, “dump” is not the word. “Capitalize on value before he leaves” would be more appropriate. Simons is a restricted free agent at season’s end and the Blazers will be tight against the salary cap wall from the beginning of free agency. He’ll likely command a number of offers Portland can’t afford to match, and the Blazers have seemingly endless depth in the backcourt. Expect him to be traded before the deadline.
Nassir Little: keep
The shining star of the season so far, Little has brought energy and creativity that has been a delight to watch. He’ll be mentioned in lots of deals based on his performance and value — his $4.2 million salary for next year will be one of the league’s best bargains. But he can be an important part of the Blazers’ future and should be kept.
Larry Nance, Jr: keep
I like to reward effort, and Nance has brought that in droves this season. He can play three positions and might be the Blazers’ best frontcourt defender. His salary actually goes down next year, and he’s just one of seven Blazers with a guaranteed deal.
Cody Zeller: dump
Nothing against Zeller, but he can hardly stay on the court. He’s one of seven Blazers who will become unrestricted free agents at season’s end and will definitely be in a new jersey then. Probably untradeable though, so he’ll likely finish the season a Blazer.
Ben McLemore: keep
They won’t have Bird rights on McLemore so they’ll have to get him early or on a mid-level exception, but his play has earned him a solid multiyear offer.
Tony Snell: dump
This will likely end up being an either/or move against what happens with McLemore, but Snell has also impressed in limited minutes and could fill the veteran mid-level exception slot.
Dennis Smith, Jr.: dump
Actually, we can probably add him as a plan B2 aside Snell as a mid-level or sign-and-trade possibility. He has value as a good decision maker and solid defensive player.
CJ Elleby: dump
In Elleby’s one stretch of meaningful minutes in two seasons as a Blazer, earlier this season against the Clippers, Elleby looked absolutely lost. It’s doubtful he’ll ever be a rotation player in the NBA.
Trendon Watford: keep
Watford has played a handful of minutes a game for the last six weeks or so, and has shown some rebounding ability. He’ll be cheap to keep.
Greg Brown III: keep
Brown is a tremendous athlete and has a future in the league as a multi-position sixth man. He’ll also likely be available for the league minimum,
Keljin Blevins: dump
Blevins has been buried under Portland’s guard surplus for his two seasons with the team.
The ghost of Andrew Nicholson: can’t dump what you can’t hold
Next year, mercifully the last on his buyout-stretch deal, the Blazers will still pay him nearly $3 million to dominate the Eastern hemisphere. It still hurts.
Chauncey Billups: dump
We’ve made this case before, and we’ll undoubtedly make it again, but Billups is a terrible tactician and the Blazers should right last offseason’s wrong and replace him with Becky Hammon.