4 ways to trade the Portland Trail Blazers expiring contracts

The Portland Trail Blazers have eight players with contracts that expire this year. Let’s look at some potential deals for those players.

The Portland Trail Blazers have staggered to a 13-22 start and are quickly fading from the playoff picture.

With eight players on expiring deals totaling nearly $40 million, there are plenty of trade opportunities out there for the Blazers, and plenty of needs for what remains of this season and those to come.

Damian Lillard has committed himself to staying in Portland — at least through one more transition period — but the team that surrounds him when next season begins should bear little resemblance to the one around him now.

The Portland Trail Blazers’ season has been disrupted by injuries and COVID

Every player on the Blazers roster has missed at least one game due to injuries or the virus that is rampaging across the league and the globe. Let that sink in for a moment.

We have been first in line to criticize Chauncey Billups for his questionable lineup rotations and the team’s apparent lack of any defensive system whatsoever, but he has had his opening night five starters together for just 18 of his team’s 35 games.

With an interim General Manager in place in Joe Cronin, it remains to be seen how aggressive the Blazers are in what promises to be a busy mid-season trade market. With each passing loss and spot lost in the standings, it becomes more likely that they’ll look to add pieces for the future rather than try and make a championship run with this talented — but severely flawed — roster.

So let’s take a look at some possible trade destinations for the Blazers’ trove of players on expiring deals.