1. The Portland Trail Blazers trade down and expand their arsenal
The San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies, Charlotte Hornets, and Oklahoma City Thunder all hold multiple first-round selections in this year’s draft after the seventh pick. The Blazers could trade their pick in a two-for-one deal, giving them two rolls in the crapshoot and the ability to add two young contributors on rookie-scale salaries. They could also target a veteran player on one of those teams and see if they’re able to convince their trade partner to include a win-now piece in the deal as well.
They could try to negotiate with any of the squads with a draft pick lower than seventh and try to nab both a pick later in the first round and a proven player in return. There are all sorts of possible combinations available, as there should be plenty of teams willing to part ways with one of their pieces in order to jump into the top 10 of this draft.
What’s important is that the Blazers stay in the first round of this draft in any deal they make. The future is looking pretty precarious right now for Portland, and Damian Lillard could be out the door soon if they don’t build a contender quickly — a tall task that might be insurmountable.
Even if Portland moves down to try to garner more instant contributors, they need to ensure that they’re still adding young talent in case they need to launch a full-on rebuild in the near future.