Portland Trail Blazers: 3 power forwards to target in 2022 NBA free agency

Bobby Portis, Portland Trail Blazers, Milwaukee Bucks, 2022 NBA Free Agency (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
Bobby Portis, Portland Trail Blazers, Milwaukee Bucks, 2022 NBA Free Agency (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
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Jeff Green, CJ Elleby, Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets, 2022 NBA Free Agency
Jeff Green, CJ Elleby, Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets, 2022 NBA Free Agency (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Portland Trail Blazers power forward free agency target: Jeff Green

After being one of the older teams in the NBA for quite some time, the Portland Trail Blazers suddenly find themselves lacking in veteran presence.

Outside of Damian Lillard, Jusuf Nurkic, and Josh Hart, Portland doesn’t have any players signed on for next year older than 25 — unless you count Eric Bledsoe who is likely to be waived before the start of the 2022-2023 NBA season.

While Jeff Green is one of the NBA’s most seasoned players, he doesn’t appear like it on the court. The former fifth-overall pick is still skying to the rim for lobs and put-backs on a game-to-game basis.

https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1501020782826123265

Green quickly went from a tweener who couldn’t quite put it all together to one of the NBA’s most coveted role players. He can space the floor, guard multiple positions, and finish plays at the rim.

He’s a 3-and-D plus in a league where you can’t have enough 3-and-D players on your roster.

The latest step in his evolution was adding the ability to feature as a small-ball five, aptly defending the rim while drawing opposing big men out to the arc on defense.

After shedding Robert Covington and Larry Nance Jr., Portland could use another versatile veteran to fill that role.

Jeff Green might welcome a return back to the Pacific Northwest and could make a little more money with the Trail Blazers than the $4.5 million figure on his player option for next season.