The Portland Trail Blazers need to level up this offseason, but have some big contracts holding them back. They also need a solution for Victor Wembanyama. Could Anthony Davis be the answer to their problems that they desperately need?
The Trail Blazers deserve a lot of credit for getting as far as they did. Their head coach was arrested on gambling charges and a first-time interim coach, Tiago Splitter, was installed. They dealt with injuries to multiple key players, not to mention Damian Lillard being signed and unable to play the entire year as he rehabbed his Achilles injury.
And yet they tore through the second half of their schedule to make it into the playoffs as the seventh seed, and then gave the San Antonio Spurs all that they could handle through four games. They are down 3-1, making it extremely unlikely they will come back to pull off the upset, but they did their best.
Not every Portland player is succeeding
Some players on the team are clearly keepers as they look to take the next step. Deni Avdija is a star, Toumani Camara was everywhere defensively, and Jrue Holiday still has plenty left in the tank. Scoot Henderson hasn't developed as quickly as everyone hoped, but he showed real flashes of finally coming into his own.
Two players who have not covered themselves in glory are Jerami Grant and Shaedon Sharpe. The veteran Grant might be shooting with his eyes closed, as he is hitting only 30.8 percent of his 3-pointers (really bad) and 37.5 percent of his 2-pointers (really, really, really bad). He has lost minutes to Kris Murray because of how badly he has played.
It's not as if Shaedon Sharpe has been ready to step in and take more of a scoring load. Portland needs someone to take and make shots next to Avdija and Holiday, but it hasn't been Sharpe. He is averaging only 15.3 minutes and 7.8 points per game, shooting 22.2 percent from deep and 41.4 percent from the field overall. When you factor in that he is the worst defender on either team, waving kindly to Spurs guards as they drive past him, you get a player bombing the Blazers' ability to win games.
The problem for this series is almost done; it was always a long shot that the Blazers would pull off the upset over the No. 2 seed San Antonio Spurs. Yet the long-term problem will only grow worse: Sharpe and Grant are owed a combined $54.2 million next season and $58 million the year after. How can the Trail Blazers build a contending team with those two contracts weighing them down?
The answer could solve their other problem at the same time. While Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams have played well enough defensively in the series, on offense they offer little impact as scorers. That has allowed Victor Wembanyama to roam wherever he wants and effectively ignore Portland's centers.
The answer? Anthony Davis.
Portland could trade for Anthony Davis
It is true that Anthony Davis has dealt with a myriad of injuries over the last two seasons, tanking his value and masking the impact that he can have on the court. It is also true that when last seen, Davis was a dominant two-way force who could defend the paint at a Top-5 level and also score 20 points per game.
Ignore Davis, Wembanyama could not. He would give the Trail Blazers another strong scoring option inside, and he has enough shooting ability to provide some space for Avdija in the paint as well. He is an underrated passer and (again, when healthy) has been an All-Star offensive player on top of his defensive chops.
The Washington Wizards hope to take a step forward next year, but they also have an Anthony-Davis-lite player in Alex Sarr, whom they hope to continue developing. They bought very low on Davis, and it's not unthinkable that they would be interested in taking a flier on Shaedon Sharpe. Grant's contract is onerous but only lasts two years, and he is a useful veteran player.
It would be a risk given Davis's injury history, and it could blow up in their faces. It could also be a way to move off of that much long-term salary and give the Blazers a win-now group ready to go to war. This may not be the right move, but the Portland front office has to consider these types of trades.
Somewhere out there is the perfect deal to push this team up a level. Anthony Davis could be the one.
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