With the start of NBA Training Camps in the near distance, the clock continues to tick for the Portland Trail Blazers. Damian Lillard demanded a trade nearly two months ago and they don’t appear any closer to meeting that demand. However, that could change over the next few weeks.
You can’t imagine that the Blazers want this possible distraction to carry into the start of the season and it would probably be in the best interest of both sides to get a deal done before training camps open. As Portland continues to wait for the right deal to develop, we explore five players that would help the Blazers reach contender status even after losing arguably the greatest player in franchise history.
Players the Portland Trail Blazers could target in the Damian Lillard trade to reach contender status
Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz
In the event that the Utah Jazz (or Danny Ainge) tries to stick it to the Miami Heat (or Pat Riley) one final time, there’s a scenario in which they would be willing to go all-in for Damian Lillard. They have the assets and young players that the Trail Blazers would likely be seeking in a potential deal. Whether it makes sense for the Jazz to go all-in for Lillard is an entirely different conversation.
However, the addition of Lauri Makkanen would be an intriguing one for the young Blazers. With Scoot Henderson’s promising future, Shaedon Sharpe’s expected big step forward, the continued progression of Anfernee Simons, and the duo of Markkanen and Jerami Grant in the frontcourt, there’s a path where Portland creates a strong core 5 with such an addition.
It wouldn’t be outlandish to say that the Blazers could be real players in the West with this core 4 in the next couple of seasons.
RJ Barrett, New York Knicks
Should the New York Knicks be willing to go all-in on the potential of a backcourt that features Jalen Brunson and Damian Lillard, the Portland Trail Blazers should jump at the opportunity to land RJ Barrett in such a deal. As one of the most underrated two-way budding stars in the league, there’s a lot of good that Barrett could do on this young Blazers team. Building around a core of Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Anfernee Simons, Barrett, and Jerami Grant would be a good post-Dame starting spot for Portland.
And if Barrett continues to make strides in his development, there’s a chance that he could help keep the Blazers afloat while Scoot Henderson and Sharpe develop into something special. The Blazers have a huge hole at the small forward position and Barrett would fill that nicely.
The best part of Barrett landing on the Blazers is the fact that the limelight and pressure would be off of him and he’d be able to continue to develop at a more comfortable pace. Not to say that playing in New York has been overwhelming for him throughout the first few years of his career but it almost has to play at least some factor in his development.
Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors
At this point last season, one of the more premiere young assets in the NBA was Scottie Barnes. His stock was so high that the Toronto Raptors were reportedly unwilling to include him in a possible deal for Kevin Durant. After taking a bit of a step back during his sophomore season in the NBA, you can’t help but wonder if the Raptors would be willing to include him in a possible package for Damian Lillard. From the Raptors’ perspective, a big three of Lillard, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby would be an intriguing threat in the Eastern Conference.
For the Trail Blazers, they’d be huge winners too in adding Barnes to their strong core of young players. Barnes would immediately play a big role in Portland and wouldn’t be stuck behind veterans on the totem pole as he is in Toronto. The Trail Blazers would also emerge as one of the more exciting teams to watch in the Western Conference this season.
Barnes is probably no longer the surefire budding star that many perceived him to be after his rookie campaign, but he still has a great skillset and the athleticism to develop into one in the right environment. Maybe that’s Portland.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
If the Portland Trail Blazers are willing to roll the dice on a big-time reclamation project, perhaps a player like Karl-Anthony Towns would be a worthy target in a possible Damian Lillard trade. KAT has certainly been one of the more polarizing stars through the first few years of his career. At this point, you can make the argument that the only way KAT will be able to resurrect his star status in the NBA is by embracing a change of scenery. Quite frankly, I’m also not sure that the Minnesota Timberwolves would be all that opposed to that idea.
For all the bad press that KAT has gotten recently, he’s still just 27 years old and continues to have the ability to do things on the basketball court that not many other 7-footers can do. A fresh start may be exactly what KAT needs to jump-start the second chapter of his career. The Trail Blazers could be the ideal spot for that.
Playing under zero expectation and with a talented group of young players in Portland could go a long way in reinvigorating KAT. At this point in his career, that may be something that is very much needed.
Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
If the Portland Trail Blazers wanted to make the biggest of gambles, there’s one player they should be circling – Zion Williamson. Before the 2023 NBA Draft, there were whispers that the New Orleans Pelicans were exploring the idea of trading Zion. Nothing ever came to fruition and then it was all denied shortly after. We don’t know what really transpired between the Pelicans and Zion before the NBA Draft, but you can’t help but wonder if they wouldn’t revisit some of those thoughts if it meant landing Damian Lillard.
The Pelicans would be able to get out from under Zion’s contract and field a competing team with Lillard, CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram, and the rest of their strong supporting cast. The Trail Blazers would be able to add the most dominating force in the league (when he’s healthy) to an extremely talented young core.
Who wouldn’t want to see a lineup that includes Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, Jerami Grant, and Zion Williamson? That’s the type of lineup that could emerge as the best young starting 5 in the NBA.
The Trail Blazers have a big decision to make over the next few weeks. How this all ends with Damian Lillard remains to be seen, but it would be huge if Portland is able to land a difference-making young player in the process.