The Portland Trail Blazers have two timelines consisting of veterans and young players, but the line between which group is better is getting blurrier by the day.
Their young core has shown significant progress and has been the catalyst behind their surprising season. That should be a telling sign for the Blazers that they are ready to initiate the next phase of their rebuild.
Joe Cronin needs to explore trades that clear the path for their young core while also finding the right pieces to complement them, which is easier said than done.
Moving Anfernee Simons
The Blazers must choose what their backcourt is going forward. Although they have young guards, they will have to make a decision soon, given Shaedon Sharpe's potential rookie-scale extension and the fact that Simons' contract is set to expire after next season. We prefer they keep Henderson and Sharpe.
Simons is a skilled player, but he doesn't quite fit in with the Blazers' roster as a defensive-minded team trending toward Henderson and Deni Avdija being their primary playmakers. There's also the concern that the Blazers' ceiling will be limited as a team if they have to make Simons one of their highest-paid players long-term.
Several teams can use the combo guard and shooting abilities that Simons brings to the table. Cal Durrett of Air Alamo lists trading for Simons as one scenario that the Spurs should prepare for this offseason. A few other teams make sense as potential landing spots, including the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat.
Offloading Jerami Grant
We're well past the asking price of two first-round picks that Portland had for Jerami Grant last summer. The Blazers should look into trading him by almost any means necessary at this point.
The one thing they have working in their favor is that the new TV deal increased the salary cap by ten percent. Still, Grant's contract will likely not be appealing given the down year he's had as an inefficient scorer who doesn't contribute much elsewhere.
It's awesome that Grant was born in Portland and really embraces the city. If the Blazers were on a different timeline and he wasn't paid so much, we'd want to keep him around. But their end-of-season stretch without him showed why their young core may be better off without the oldest and second-highest-paid player.
Packaging their first-round pick for a star
Deni Avdija has emerged as a go-to player in the past month, but that won't be enough to become a legitimate contender. The Blazers still need more star power to compete in the Western Conference, and their surprising season proved they are more ready to accelerate the rebuild than initially thought.
Zion Williamson is one star to monitor, as the Pelicans could be more inclined to move him this summer after trading Brandon Ingram at the deadline. Williamson is also an injury risk, understandably making him a polarizing trade target. Even if it's not Zion specifically, Portland needs to be open to trading their pick, which will likely land in the 8-11 range.
The NBA landscape is ever-evolving, and Luka Doncic being on the Lakers proves you never know which star will unexpectedly become available. They have shown in the Avdija deal that they are willing to sacrifice valuable draft capital if the right player comes along and need to be prepared to do so again this summer.