Any rumors concerning the Portland Trail Blazers’ activity – or lack thereof – at this year’s trade deadline continue to seem contradictory. With less than 72 hours left to make a move, is Portland a buyer? A seller? Will the Blazers take a big swing? A small swing? No swing at all?
Apparently, ESPN’s Zach Lowe is just as befuddled as the rest of us as he explained on a Feb. 6 edition of The Hoop Collective podcast with colleague Brian Windhorst.
All public comments coming out of Portland continue to stress general manager Joe Cronin’s desire to build a championship contender around Damian Lillard. At the same time, however, it doesn’t seem like the Blazers are ready to cash in all their chips to go after any this year’s big names – OG Anunoby, Kyle Kuzma, John Collins, and Bojan Bogdanovic among them.
Lowe echoed what most Portland fans have been thinking:
“Are they just OK being mediocre? ‘We’re maximizing Dame’s prime, but not really, we’re not very good.'”
Josh Hart and Jusuf Nurkic have been the biggest trade chips bandied about in the weeks leading up to Feb. 9. Hart’s odd contract essentially makes him a $13 million expiring. Nurkic isn’t the fit he once was alongside Lillard, but his deal, which lasts three more seasons and peaks above $19 million in 2025-26, is nearly impossible to trade.
“The only meaningful stuff they have to really shake it up is (Jerami) Grant and (Anfernee) Simons and (Shaedon) Sharpe,” Lowe added.
However, the NBA insider immediately followed that by saying Portland considers Simons to be “the bridge to the future.”
And Sharpe is likely more untouchable than Simons.
There could be a deal had involving Hart and possibly Justise Winslow, who has a $4 million expiring contract of his own. Packaged together, that would give Portland the opportunity to bring back around $17 million worth of salary, assuming they can find a willing partner who has something the Blazers need, like additional size or bench scoring.
The ghost of Neil Olshey will haunt Cronin’s office for the next handful of seasons as the protection Olshey put on a first-round pick now owned by the Chicago Bulls handcuffs the Blazers’ ability to trade any first-rounder, unless they remove the protections completely and give Chicago a trade-deadline gift.
That leaves Grant as the last meaningful asset standing.
Jerami has been the Blazers’ third-best player this season, and there have been games where he’s been more valuable than Simons. But he’s also an unrestricted free agent come summer, and things between him and Portland have hit at least a small snag.
The Blazers offered Grant a four-year, $112 million extension earlier this winter, the maximum amount Portland could dish out during the season. Grant turned it down and will enter free agency.
Since he can get as much as $174 million for four seasons on the open market, or a five-year deal worth $233 million from the Blazers, it makes sense for the 28-year-old to say no, at least for the moment.
The fit between Lillard, Simons, and Grant seems snug, and by all accounts, the former Piston has enjoyed his time in Portland. But there’s no guarantee he decides to return next year, especially considering he’s in that middle ground as a player – not worth a max contract, but likely going to command close to it on the open market.
Lowe gauged the odds at “90/10, maybe 80/20” Grant is still on the team on Feb. 10. It would make the most sense for the Blazers to hold onto him, ride out the season, and do their best to re-sign him in the summer.
Then, only seconds after Lowe’s comments, Windhorst chimed in saying, “it sounds like the Blazers are going to buy.”
So Simons is off the table. Sharpe is likely off the table. Grant is probably off the table. But Portland still wants to add to its roster to help Dame make a playoff run.
A wildcard, indeed.