Portland Trail Blazers: 3 centers to target in 2022 NBA Free Agency
By Andy Quach
The Portland Trail Blazers desperately need to identify a reliable backup for their oft-injured starting center, Jusuf Nurkic. Former General Manager Neil Olshey tried to fill that need with Cody Zeller, a familiar face on the NBA injury report in his own right. With Zeller hitting free agency this off-season, the Blazers should look elsewhere to fill that slot on the depth chart.
There’s a chance that fans have already gotten a decent look at the Blazers’ backup center of the future if they’ve been following the Big Dance. Prospects such as Jalen Duren or Walker Kessler would be solid picks for Portland’s depth with the latter of their two potential first-round selections. Either of those players could contribute immediately off of the pine, as well as provide a pick-and-roll partner for Anfernee Simons down the road.
3 centers the Portland Trail Blazers should target in 2022 NBA Free Agency
While the 2022 NBA Draft should have some good options for Joe Cronin to parse through, he shouldn’t ignore the talent hitting the market this summer either. There are a few solid bigs that should be available for a decent price this off-season.
Technically, Nurkic will also become a mercenary at the end of this league year. While there’s always a small chance that he could seek greener pastures — or a fatter paycheck — elsewhere, his deactivation for the rest of the season suggests that he and the Trail Blazers already have a plan in place for their marriage.
This ranking will be made with the assumption that Nurk will re-sign, which eliminates the pursuit of Deandre Ayton who wasn’t likely to leave the Phoenix Suns anyways. Here are the top three centers that the Portland Trail Blazers should target in free agency.