Portland Trail Blazers: 3 point guards to target in 2022 NBA Free Agency
By Andy Quach
Interim General Manager Joe Cronin has stated that the Portland Trail Blazers now have multiple avenues to improve the team; they can acquire talent through trades, by creating cap space, with the $21 million traded player exception they received in the CJ McCollum deal, their midlevel exception, and/or their biannual exception. It’s crucial then that Cronin scour all possible available players including those set to hit the market in 2022 NBA free agency.
The Trail Blazers have nine players already signed on for next season: Damian Lillard, Eric Bledsoe, Josh Hart, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson, Nassir Little, Trendon Watford, Greg Brown III, and Didi Louzada. We can logically assume that Eric Bledsoe will not be on the roster and Jusuf Nurkic and Anfernee Simons will have new contracts with Portland by tip-off 2022.
3 point guards the Portland Trail Blazers should target in 2022 NBA Free Agency
That leaves the Blazers with plenty of room to operate and find upgrades in nearly every single position. One of the direst needs will be finding a backup point guard. While Dame and Ant can certainly stagger their minutes at one slot, as Lillard and CJ have done for a few seasons, it’s proven to be a less than ideal situation. Instead, Cronin should find a steady veteran hand to run the second unit’s offense and offer reassurance in case injuries hit the backcourt.
Between Dame and Ant’s predicted new contract, Portland figures to have over $62 million committed to guards so it’s best not to get too enamored with any Kyrie Irving or Jalen Brunson jersey swaps. While this is set to be a pretty top-heavy free agent pool, with many of the A-List options likely to remain with the teams they’re currently on, there are still a few great veterans that would fit nicely with the Blazers.