The Portland Trail Blazers are approaching this year’s NBA trade deadline with multiple needs. A point guard to run the second unit, some extra scoring from the bench, and some additional size could all be useful to head coach Chauncey Billups.
Making a splash for an all-NBA caliber player would drain almost the entirety of Portland’s available assets. If general manager Joe Cronin is going to re-tool his bench, it will need to be with marginal moves.
There appear to be fewer sellers than usual this February, which narrows the list of options for the Blazers. But if Cronin scours the market, there are still difference makers at every position, beginning with point guard.
PG Delon Wright
The 30-year-old Wright has been a steady, if unspectacular, reserve guard during his six-plus seasons in the league. If he has any one skill that does approach spectacular, though, it’s his defense.
Wright is able to use his 6-foot-5 frame to pester smaller guards and he often finds himself in the right place, both on-ball and off. That size also allows him to reach in and poke the ball away or get his hands into passing lanes – he’s averaging more than two steals per game this year in only 20 minutes a night.
Those deflections and turnovers could lead to easy scores in transition, which Portland could sorely use.
It won’t be flashy, but his steady offensive game (almost a 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio) and ability to hound opposing backcourts would be a welcome addition to the Blazers’ bench.
SG Malik Beasley
Beasley is one of the acquirable members of the tanking Utah Jazz, which may make him one of the cheapest available options in terms of bench scoring.
In 79 games last season, only 18 of which were with the starting unit, Beasley averaged 12.1 points and shot almost 38 percent from three on more than eight attempts. This season, he’s upped that average to 13.6 ppg, again mostly off the bench, and is connecting on 36 percent of his 8.5 threes a game.
He’s also finally been consistently healthy, and during the last two seasons combined, the 26-year-old is averaging almost 13 points on 37 percent shooting from deep in fewer than 26 minutes per game.
A little bit of microwave scoring would be a boost to a bench unit that’s still racking up the fewest points of any in the NBA.
F Terrence Ross
The Orlando Magic are reportedly ready to move on from the 31-year-old who’s made a career out of getting second unit buckets.
Ross will become a free agent after this season, and as he’s buried toward the bottom of Orlando’s depth chart, shouldn’t come at a huge cost.
The 10-year vet is a career 11 ppg scorer, but from 2019-21 when he was consistently on the floor, Ross averaged more than 15 points and shot 36 percent from three on almost seven attempts per game.
Even if he’s on the downside of his career, the 6-7 wing can still provide scoring punch off the bench, he shouldn’t cost a ton to acquire, and if it doesn’t work out, Portland can let him and his $11.5 million cap hit walk at the end of the season.
F Jarred Vanderbilt
The 23-year-old Jazz forward is averaging a career-high 8.6 ppg, but Vanderbilt isn’t in demand because of his offense.
He’s wanted around the league because he’s an incredibly athletic, versatile, 6-9 Energizer bunny who does a little bit of all the dirty stuff.
In fact, as our colleague Seth Borkowski wrote on Hoops Habit in December, a certain Portland point guard had Vanderbilt on his radar for those exact reasons.
“When asked in a recent interview who he’d be most interested in teaming with, Dame said Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Jarred Vanderbilt. ‘“Jarred Vanderbilt does everything. He guards every position, he rebounds, he’s a playmaker, he’s tough, competitive, and has a good feel for what’s going on out there.”’
Vanderbilt would be an immediate fit on any team in the NBA because of his aggressiveness, energy, length and athleticism. Pairing him with Gary Payton II and Nassir Little off the bench or with someone just as long and athletic as he is like Jerami Grant would give the Blazers the potential to be one of the league’s most switchable, annoying defenses.
If Portland’s second unit is going to struggle to score, why not double down on the other end of the floor? And if Utah is making both Beasley and Vanderbilt available, maybe there’s a deal to be had that would see the Blazers add offense and defense in a single trade.
C James Wiseman
Mo Bamba would be a good option here as well, but the Blazers could take a swing at a former No. 2 overall pick who’s stuck behind vets on a win-now Golden State roster.
Wiseman missed all of last season with a knee injury, but even when healthy has yet to see consistent minutes in Steve Kerr’s rotation. The former McDonald’s All-American has flashed brief glimmers of his potential when he’s gotten on the floor, however – maybe a change of scenery and more playing time could help his game grow.
Wiseman is still 21 years old and one of the most athletic big men in the league at 7-1, 240 pounds. In high school and his (very) brief time in college at Memphis, he also showed some range on his jumper and an offensive skillset that could make him more than just a rim runner.
He would fill Portland’s need for additional size and could become a solid pick-and-roll partner for whoever is running the second unit, whether that be Lillard or Anfernee Simons.
In the 58 NBA games he’s played, Wiseman has per-36 minute averages of 10.0 points and 5.1 rebounds on 54 percent shooting. Those stats won’t wow anyone, but a player his age with his size and alluring talent might be worth a flier, especially since the Blazers would have all of next season to decide if they want to extend him a qualifying offer and hang onto him past 2024-25.