The Portland Trail Blazers prioritized talent over fit in their trade for Ja Morant. With the talented but floor-shrinking DeMar DeRozan still in free agency, the concern was that they may continue to follow a similar formula.
Fortunately, it sounds like Portland isn't currently interested in adding DeRozan, NBA insider Marc Stein recently reported on The Stein Line.
"Portland is not currently pursuing free agent swingman DeMar DeRozan, league sources say, despite reports to the contrary," Stein writes.
Blazers are wise to steer clear of DeMar DeRozan
Well, that's a relief. Not to say the 36-year-old DeRozan doesn't still have gas left in his tank. But the reasoning behind taking the flyer on Morant wasn't quite aligned with this potential free agency pursuit.
As one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league last season, Portland was willing to overlook the lack of floor spacing concern by bringing in Morant because the need for a long-term point guard superseded that.
There's not the same long-term benefit to adding another aging veteran into the mix. Not when he's an arguably even worse fit for this roster.
Besides, GM Joe Cronin has already made his free agency intentions clear when he signed Micah Potter and Jeremy Sochan to non-guaranteed contracts. Potter, Sochan, and other future signings are now expected to battle it out for the remaining spots.
Blazers will continue to pursue non-guaranteed contracts
That's something Stein's colleague Jake Fischer previously reported on The Stein Line:
"Word is that the Trail Blazers are looking to bring in several players on non-guaranteed contracts to compete alongside Micah Potter for a final roster spot after Portland recently claimed Potter off waivers."
It's hard to see DeRozan fitting into that group of players, making it unsurprising that the Blazers aren't pursuing the veteran guard.
Ultimately, that approach is the right decision. While they still need to add star power and could use DeRozan in that department, he's just going to get in the way of the good thing the Blazers currently have going with their young core. They already have enough ball-handlers and playmakers, and should focus more on the role players such as Potter and Sochan who can contribute without the ball in their hands.
With DeRozan out of consideration, Portland should throw a few more small forwards into the mix to compete alongside Potter and Sochan. Depth remains an issue at that position in particular.
Still, it's ultimately in Portland's best interest to continue playing the long game and find a better-fitting role player to complement their existing core. As we've seen in Sacramento, DeRozan doesn't quite fall under that category.
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