This was your classic Portland Trail Blazers trade deadline. A lot of anticipation but no fireworks.
After the Blazers acquired sharpshooter Vit Krejci from the Atlanta Hawks, NBA insider Marc Stein reported on X that Portland was "in the midst of LOTS of NBA trade matters at the moment." Yet nothing materialized.
We shouldn't be surprised at this point.
Blazers should've picked a clear direction at the trade deadline
In general, this was a strange deadline that saw rebuilding teams like the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards become aggresive buyers in their respective trades for Jaren Jackson Jr. and Anthony Davis.
Utah realized they aren't an attractive free agency destination and decided to acquire its star talent via trade. Portland needed to take the same path. Many expected the Blazers to buy at the deadline, but they are now forced to make a playoff push with essentially the same roster that is in the midst of an active six-game losing streak.
We wouldn't have even minded if they took the opposite approach as sellers.
Jerami Grant and Jrue Holiday are two overpaid veterans they should've tried to dump, particularly to clear space to renegotiate and extend Deni Avdija.
The Blazers lack of movement and direction now puts them in no man's land for the remainder of the season. A playoff appearance is possible, especially with the Los Angeles Clippers moving James Harden and Ivica Zubac. But in all likelihood, this Blazers team will be picking right around No. 11 in the draft yet again. They're currently four games back from the Golden State Warriors for the eighth seed.
That doesn't mean it's a lost season as they've shown legitimate signs of progress: Deni Avdija with his first All-Star appearance, Shaedon Sharpe with a career year, and Donovan Clingan embracing his starting center role.
However, the Blazers left some meat on the bone with their inactivity. What's the point of the win-now trade for Holiday if you have no follow-up moves to match that timeline? Why hold onto Jerami Grant for this long if there's no realistic shot at a playoff run?
Portland has prioritized its long-term outlook, and understandably so. We didn't want them to make an aggresive move just for the sake of it. But once it became clear that they weren't going to get anything of value to justify a buyer position, they should've changed their approach to become sellers. The 2026 draft class is too stacked, and they have too many expensive contracts to simply do nothing.
Portland's underwhelming trade deadline certainly is giving incoming owner Tom Dundon a lot to consider.