December feels like the calm before the storm for the Portland Trail Blazers. At this point in the season, the trade rumors have picked up as several teams look to position themselves as either buyers to make a playoff push or sellers to rebuild their roster leading up to the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
In terms of the potential sellers, the Blazers are one of the primary teams to keep an eye on, arguably behind only the Chicago Bulls. A third of Portland's roster has been involved in one rumor or another—two of those names include centers Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams III.
It seems only a matter of time before the Blazers trade a big man. Donovan Clingan has been impactful when healthy and is poised to take over as their starting center eventually. And with four quality centers on the roster, keeping all of them isn’t practical, considering the several other weaknesses Portland needs to address. However, one name that has flown under the radar in the center trade debate is stretch-five Duop Reath.
Blazers receiving trade interest in Duop Reath due to his valuable contract
Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer, via The Stein Line, reports that Portland has already "received early calls" on Reath. Fischer also writes that a Western Conference executive described Reath as a "really interesting" trade target.
Despite the injuries to Clingan and Williams, Chauncey Billups hasn't given Reath significant minutes this season, even electing to play Jabari Walker and Deni Avdija at center for stretches instead. Reath is averaging just 4.8 minutes per game, the lowest of any Blazers player on the roster. As a result, he's averaging 1.6 points and 0.7 rebounds.
On the court, the Blazers have done a poor job of boosting Reath's trade value, but it may not matter much, as teams are primarily interested in his valuable contract. Fischer cites the new CBA's tax aprons and increased complexity in matching salaries to getting deals done as a reason minimum contracts could be coveted at the deadline. "This trade season, reminiscent of this past offseason, I am bracing for minimum contracts to emerge as a quite valuable trade commodity."
Reath is on the books for $2 million this season and $2.2 million (non-guaranteed) in 2025-26. He could be one of the most valuable assets across the league in terms of minimum contracts. Reath has shot 35.6 percent from beyond the arc in his first two seasons, and big men who can space the floor are a premium in the modern NBA. He could be a valuable backup center in a Naz Reid-lite role.
What could the Blazers get in a Duop Reath trade?
Given the Blazers' excess centers and the league's reported interest in Reath, Portland should strongly consider moving him. The question is, how much can they get for him? It would be shocking to see them land a first-round pick, but Fischer mentions multiple second-round picks as a possibility.
"Is there a world where some rival front office, limited in ways to improve their team, values Reath's potential contribution enough to offer the Blazers multiple second-round picks? We're going to find out."
Besides the draft capital, another factor the Blazers must consider is what they are planning on doing with Ayton and Williams. Given Williams' lengthy injury history, if they decide to trade Ayton and keep Williams, they could be more inclined to keep Reath around as an insurance policy.
Still, if the Blazers can net multiple second-round picks to help their rebuild in exchange for a player buried at the bottom of their depth chart, that offer sounds too tempting to pass up.