‘Borderline anxious:’ Blazers primed for all-in, explosive offseason

Now that the Portland Trail Blazers officially (finally) have Kevin Knox and five second round picks  and Gary Payton II is in Golden State, the Blazers’ trade deadline haul is complete.

General manager Joe Cronin sent out Josh Hart and GP2 in return for:

• Forward Cam Reddish, guard Ryan Arcidiacono and a 2023 lottery-protected first round pick from the New York Knicks. If it’s not conveyed this year, the pick becomes four 2024 second round selections.
• Guard Matisse Thybulle from the Philadelphia 76ers
• Knox and the five future second-rounders

Cronin didn’t swing a blockbuster deal at the deadline, but he did re-stock his asset cupboard, which gives Portland the ability to make that all-in move this offseason, if it so chooses.

Whether that will actually come to fruition is debatable; what’s not debatable is the potential for a busy summer. Armed with six more draft picks (or nine, depending on where the Knicks land this season) and a GM that said, “We are borderline anxious to push all of our chips in,” in an interview with Jason Quick of The Athletic, the Blazers are preparing for a potentially fast and furious offseason.

The Portland Trail Blazers have the assets to take an all-in swing this summer

Re-signing Jerami Grant should be at the top of Portland’s to-do list. If it isn’t No. 1, it’s No. 1A.

Grant, who went from being a role player early in his career to the best player on a bad Detroit Pistons team, has seemingly found a perfect fit with the Blazers. He’s provided his usual brand of length and activity, but he’s also become one of Portland’s most important offensive players.

On any given night, Grant could be option one, two, or three alongside Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons. He ranks third on the team in minutes, scoring, field-goal attempts, 3-point attempts, and second in free-throw attempts.

He’s also averaging a career-high in minutes and is only bested by his time as the consistent No. 1 option in Detroit in points per game.

The Blazers offered Grant a four-year, $112 million contract extension – the most they could offer him in-season. He turned it down to pursue a heftier pay day this summer.

Any NBA team could offer him a four-year, $174 million max deal after the season. Portland could give him $233 million over five years. The market will decide whether Grant is worth a max contract, but by trading Hart and Payton II, Cronin opened up extra space on the Blazers cap sheet for 2023-24.

Which brings us to Portland’s assets if it decides to make that all-in move. If there’s any overarching takeaway from the 2023 trade deadline (or the last decade, really), it’s that the next unhappy superstar to demand a trade is just around the corner.

The question for every team then becomes, “Do we have the assets to acquire them?”

In a complicated, round-about fashion, and with a few assumptions made, the Blazers technically could have two 2023 first-round picks to dangle in a deal.

If Portland misses the playoffs and retains its first round pick that’s otherwise owed to the Chicago Bulls, the moment the Blazers are officially eliminated from the postseason, that pick will roll over and become a 2024 first round pick.

Cronin acquired New York’s 2023 lottery-protected first as part of the Josh Hart trade. If New York makes the playoffs – the Knicks are seventh in the Eastern Conference standings and five games clear of the final play-in spot as of Feb. 14 – Portland lands that selection.

The moment New York makes the playoffs, that pick becomes the Blazers’ pick. Portland is then able to trade its theoretical lottery selection, as the organization would satisfy the Stepien Rule that states no team can trade their own first round pick in consecutive seasons.

Therefore, once the draft occurs, the Blazers can trade both picks (having likely made the selections on behalf of their trade partner).

This scenario only works if: A) Portland misses the playoffs, B) New York makes the playoffs, and C) the trade is consummated after the draft.

The Blazers are in control of part A, whether they publicly admit it or not. Cronin also said he’s in constant conversation with Chicago about finding a way to release the protections on that pick if the right opportunity presents itself.

As far as untouchable players on the current roster, it’s Lillard and, at this point, quickly becoming Shaedon Sharpe as well. If Cronin wants to go all-in, everyone else would almost certainly need to be available, including Simons. Grant could theoretically be part of a sign-and-trade.

Best case scenario? The Blazers re-sign Grant and then package some combination of their two first-round picks, Simons, a handful of second-rounders, and whatever else needs to be included in the deal to acquire another star to play with Dame and Grant.

Maybe this ends up being O.G. Anunoby, who the team was attached to prior to the trade deadline. Maybe it’s Boston’s Jaylen Brown if Cronin can pry him away. Maybe Joel Embiid gets sick of the James Harden show if Philadelphia flames out again in the playoffs. Trae Young, Karl-Anthony Towns, Pascal Siakam, and Brandon Ingram could possibly get sick of their respective situations.

Or it’s a player who remains a mystery right now. Did anyone expect the Brooklyn Nets to trade Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant within days of each other?

Since he took the lead in Portland, Cronin’s ultimate goal has been to build a championship-caliber roster around Lillard without tanking. He has yet to accomplish the first, but in his defense, he also hasn’t resorted to the second.

“We are borderline anxious to push all of our chips in,” Cronin told Quick the day after the deadline. “We can’t wait for that moment to happen. It just hasn’t come up yet.”

“We are going to be ridiculously aggressive, to the point where once we push our chips all the way in, like, deal-to-deal you might say ‘Wow, they lost that deal. They gave a lot for that guy.’

“But no, that’s just us pushing our chips in. We feel extremely obligated to put a great roster around Damian Lillard.”

Now, Portland has a bigger stack of chips and a GM apparently ready to be “ridiculously aggressive” with them. Hopefully, this summer becomes that long-awaited explosive offseason in which the Trail Blazers are able to re-shape the roster in Lillard’s image – one that could realistically compete for a championship.