It seems a matter of when, not if, the Portland Trail Blazers deal the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft for win-now help. There are plenty of rumored deals floating around already, but there are also a handful of unlikely Blazers trades involving that selection that will almost certainly never come to fruition.
But what if some of them did? What if Portland somehow, miraculously, pulled off a deal to land one of the best players in the entire NBA? We’re not talking Pascal Siakam, Mikal Bridges, or Jaylen Brown here. Think bigger.
This exercise is completely and totally for fun; there might be some world out there in the multiverse in which these potential deals are realistic, but ours is not one of them.
These four trades won’t happen, or at least the likelihood of Portland pulling any of them off is very, very, very, very miniscule, despite at least some effort to make the proposals fair.
If any of them were to happen, though, the direction of the franchise would shift immediately and the Trail Blazers would become a betting favorite to win the 2023-24 NBA Championship.
Here are these totally unrealistic scenarios, ranked from most likely to least likely – most likely being 0.2 percent, least likely being literally 0 percent. It would be totally awesome, though.
Wild Blazers trade scenarios that would make Portland a title favorite
Trade No. 1: If you’re going to aim for the King…
There might be no better “win now” trade than bringing LeBron James to Rip City.
James appears to be on the last legs of his NBA career. He’s clearly not the dominant player he once was, as evidenced by his performance down the stretch of this year’s playoffs.
Still, putting LeBron’s hoops IQ, thirst to win another title, still-effective old-man game, and ability to turn the dial back to 100 when needed, next to Damian Lillard’s scoring prowess, would make the Blazers one of the favorites to win the NBA championship next season.
Lillard would allow James to play off the ball to conserve his waning energy, and when LeBron needs to turn back the clock for short bursts, Dame could get a bit of a rest – or imagine him in a smaller role as a spot-up shooter and secondary playmaker.
Defense would still be an issue in Portland (what else is new), but adding one of the greatest players in NBA history to a team with Lillard and supporting players like Jerami Grant and Shaedon Sharpe would give both LeBron and Dame a real chance at the title they’re both searching for.
Unfortunately, there’s about a 0.2 percent chance the Lakers are trade James. If that.
Trade No. 2: Swapping star power for depth?
The Phoenix Suns busted out of the playoffs because of a serious lack of depth. After the team acquired Kevin Durant and gave up, among other assets, Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, KD and Devin Booker were left with the likes of an underachieving Deandre Ayton and Torrey Craig as their best liutenants.
This trade, however unlikely, would at least solve that problem around Durant, right?
Meanwhile, the Blazers would get one of the best shooting guards and scorers in the NBA, who’s only 26. Booker averaged almost 28 points per game during the regular season last year and upped it to 33.7 ppg in the playoffs. He took a legitimate star turn and became one of the best offensive players in the entire league.
Once again, defense would be a problem here, but there’s a legitimate chance the combination of Lillard and Booker lead a team that can simply outscore anyone.
Plus, with Book only 26 years old and not even in the prime of his career yet, Portland would solidify the future of the franchise.
This trade is even less realistic than one for LeBron, though. There’s perhaps a 0.1 percent chance the Suns part with Booker for this package (probably not even that).
Trade No. 3: History slips away as does an NBA superstar
The Boston Celtics were in danger of being swept out of the Eastern Conference Finals by a Miami Heat team that finished the regular season with a negative point differential. Even Playoff Jimmy Butler shouldn’t have been able to touch this Boston team.
However, the Celtics are on track to make the most miraculous comeback in NBA history. No team has ever come back from down 0-3 to win a playoff series – Boston has won three straight to force a Game 7 at home.
Before the incredible three-game win streak, though, there was real talk of the Celtics finally splitting up the pair of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Perhaps the duo had simply run its course.
Brown then became a slightly more realistic pipe dream for Portland, but there’s a good chance the Celtics run it back now, regardless of what happens in Game 7. And if Boston does break up the duo, it’ll surely be Brown who’s dealt.
But what if the Celtics decided Tatum was the one to go instead?
JT is a top-10 player in the NBA, and he’s only 25. His best basketball is in front of him. If that basketball were to be played in Portland alongside Lillard, the Blazers would have a serious chance at winning next year’s title, not to mention future championships.
Tatum’s length and athleticism – when he’s engaged – provide more defense than either of James or Booker, but he would give Portland just as much offensively, if not more.
Regardless of what happens to the Celtics, though, there’s about a 0.5 percent chance they’re willing to trade Tatum (again, that’s a likely optimistic percentage).
Trade No. 4: At least make a call
Depending on who you believe – the media or Luka Doncic – the Slovenian is growing unhappy with his situation in Dallas. As great as Luka has been, the Mavericks haven’t sniffed any real playoff success during Doncic’s tenure.
The Mavs made the Western Conference Finals in 2021-22 before being run off the court by the Golden State Warriors.
Sounds a little familiar, doesn’t it?
It’s at least worth Portland General Manager Joe Cronin’s time to make a call to Dallas, and Doncic’s camp, to see what the deal is. Because if Cronin can pair him with Dame, the Blazers would have two of the best offensive players in league history working together – two players willing to share the ball, and two of the most clutch playoff performers in recent seasons.
Lillard’s postseason heroics are well-known to Blazers fans, and although it hasn’t led to wins – mostly because of his supporting cast – Doncic has been as clutch, if not moreso, in key playoff games.
He’s a 32.5 ppg scorer in his three career postseason appearances. He also averages 9.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists across those 28 postseason contests.
Doncic may be the ultimate pipe dream. But hey, there’s a possibility he might ask out of Dallas, the Mavericks grant that request, and the Blazers have the most enticing package to send back Mark Cuban’s way, right?
Probably not. This is the good ol’ trade with a 0.0 percent chance of happening. None of these trades, in fact, have anywhere near a legitimate shot at going down.
But you can imagine what it would be like if they did.