Blazers should gamble on this high-risk, high-reward trade target now available

Many analysts expect the Portland Trail Blazers to be sellers at the trade deadline. They are now 8-12 after their 115-106 win over the Sacramento Kings to stay alive in the Emirates NBA Cup. Portland's been an entertaining team to watch so far this season, especially relative to expectations as a rebuilding team. But now, their roster as currently constructed may be too talented to land them a top pick in 2025, which is expected to be loaded with talent even beyond the headliner of Duke's Cooper Flagg.

With their current record and a roster featuring multiple established players like Jerami Grant, along with a center logjam (with Robert Williams III and Deandre Ayton both potential trade candidates), Rip City is a team to monitor between now and February. But there's at least one team to watch even more closely - the Chicago Bulls.

The Chicago Bulls are expected to be sellers

Jake Fischer on The People's Insider (subscription required) says that the Bulls, "according to league sources, have been messaging to rival front offices that they are willing to discuss the majority of their roster in trade talks leading up to the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Most notably, sources say, Chicago has expressed a desire to move LaVine, Vučević and Ball — who collectively command nearly $85 million in salary this season."

Fischer references the fact that Chicago moved both DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso this past offseason, which has opened up a floodgate for the Bulls to be "willing to move anybody." If Chicago does have a fire sale at the trade deadline, it doesn't make sense for Portland to be interested in either Zach LaVine or Nikola Vucevic.

Portland desperately needs a face of the franchise, and LaVine would immediately be their best player, but there's a reason it's been so difficult for Chicago to move him up until now. In the second apron era, teams are forced to be much more selective with which players they go all in on from a financial standpoint. Accounting for his player option in 2026-27, LaVine is owed nearly $140 million.

Given his injury history and lackluster defense, LaVine is a negative asset and not worth the gamble for teams unless significant draft capital is attached to the deal. Vucevic's poor fit with the Blazers is much more apparent; he's 34, and the Blazers already have a center logjam. However, one player who is intriguing for Portland's roster needs is Lonzo Ball.

Why Lonzo Ball makes sense for the Blazers

Depending on the asking price, Ball would be an excellent player for the Blazers to target in a deal. Various factors suggest Portland could acquire Ball for a reasonable price, including:

• The Bulls are so willing to trade players after moving DeRozan and Caruso

• Chicago has a plethora of up-and-coming guards between Josh Giddey, Ayo Dosunmu, and Coby White

• Ball hasn't been playing well this season (4.4 points, 3.8 assists, 2.4 rebounds per game on 38/33/0 shooting splits)

• Ball is on an expiring $21.4 million contract and the Bulls risk losing him for nothing

This would be an excellent opportunity for the Blazers to buy low on Ball, who is expendable for Chicago. He would fill several of Portland's roster weaknesses and perfectly fit their needs. Between Jerami Grant, Deandre Ayton, Anfernee Simons, and, to a lesser extent, Shaedon Sharpe, the Blazers have too many score-first players that don't impact various aspects of the game at a high level.

Ball can contribute without scoring a ton as a solid on-ball and help defender, floor spacer, and playmaker with an extremely high basketball IQ. The Blazers are significantly struggling on offense, and he'd improve their two most prominent areas of need, which are playmaking and shooting. As a 6-foot-6 point guard, he'd also help Portland double down on their strength of having the tallest lineup in the association and being a team that can effectively switch on defense.

When healthy, Ball is the ideal complementary player that is efficient and doesn't try to do too much. Whether or not he can return to the same level of player he was before injury remains to be seen. But it's worth the gamble, given the cost to acquire him and his ideal fit in Portland.