The one thing keeping the Portland Trail Blazers from returning to the playoffs is their lack of star power.
Portland may still find this star power through internal development from a player like Deni Avdija, Scoot Henderson, or Shaedon Sharpe. But that will take more time. If they want to end their four-year playoff drought as soon as next season, the Blazers will have to add another external piece to help put them over the top.
However, it's essential that, if the Blazers do add a star, they don't lose sight of their top priorities. Making the playoffs next season would be great, but winning a championship and, ideally, building a sustainable contender -- which is much more challenging under the new CBA -- should be the ultimate goal.
Should the Blazers trade for Zion Williamson? Well, it depends.
Kevin Durant and Zion Williamson were the two stars recently brought up in Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report's recent mailbag.
As Highkin notes, Durant doesn't make sense for the Blazers. It's understandably tempting to want to add arguably a top-ten player of all time to a Blazers roster that desperately needs more star power to compete in the Western Conference. But at 36 years old, Durant doesn't make sense as their missing piece.
The Blazers want to add a star that will better align with their timeline to build something more sustainable rather than making a win-now move at the expense of their future. From that standpoint, 24-year-old Williamson is a much better fit.
Zion could be cheaper for the Blazers to land, given his injury history as someone who has averaged 42.8 games played throughout his five-year career. Highkin refers to Williamson as "probably the most talented player this team could realistically trade for."
He says the Blazers should take a swing on Williamson, but that depends on the asking price, noting he wouldn't be "comfortable giving up Scoot Henderson or Shaedon Sharpe."
The appeal in a potential Zion trade for Portland is that it is a potential buy-low gamble that, if it backfires, wouldn't set back their rebuild several years. But that only works as long as the Blazers don't sacrifice parts of their young core to land him. Otherwise, they'd be better off trading for a more dependable star.
That's the same reason we gave a Williamson trade idea where the Blazers had to surrender Sharpe, Anfernee Simons, and their 2025 first-round pick, a D+ grade.
But if the asking price doesn't involve giving up their young core, Highkin says he'd take the gamble as the reward outweighs the risk at that point.
"But if it's a buy-low move and all it costs is matching salary, the 10th pick in this year's draft, and maybe one future pick swap? Yeah, I'd take the swing. Worst-case scenario, if it doesn't work out they can cut bait easily as his contract is only guaranteed if he passes certain games-played and weight-related benchmarks."
In terms of matching salary, the Blazers could trade either Jerami Grant or Deandre Ayton straight up. Between the two, Ayton might be more appealing for a retooling Pelicans team that needs more frontcourt depth alongside Yves Missi.
The Blazers should also be open to moving Simons in a package with his contract set to expire after next season -- someone who is likely viewed as a more positive trade asset.
Portland could build a formidable long-term trio with Toumani Camara, Avdija, and Williamson as their wings/forwards, all at just 24 years old.
Zion's injury history comes with risk, but it's mitigated by his contract stipulations. And if he didn't come without risk, it's unlikely Portland would ever be able to potentially land him in the first place.
Depending on the Pelicans' asking price, Zion could be the Blazers' best shot at finding someone who puts them into playoff contention and sets them up to succeed for years to come.