The Portland Trail Blazers were supposed to be buyers at the trade deadline as they look to end a four-year playoff drought. They made a move on the margins, acquiring sharpshooter Vit Krejci from the Atlanta Hawks. But if they wanted to make more of a splash without having to sacrifice their future, Portland should've pursued Coby White at the deadline.
The Chicago Bulls traded White and veteran Mike Conley Jr. to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Collin Sexton, Ousmane Dieng, and three second-round picks. One second-round pick was amended from the trade after White's physical revealed a calf injury. Portland ultimately sent the same amount of draft capital to land Krecji, and it's clear which player is more impactful between the two.
Blazers should've targeted Coby White at the trade deadline
The contract discrepancy helps bridge some of the gap between the talent. But to be honest, it's getting tiring talking about how great Portland's contracts are with Krejci, Deni Avdija, and their rookie-scale deals, because they simply aren't capitalizing on them. Instead, it's cleared the way for them to trade for Jrue Holiday this past offseason and retain Jerami Grant, two talented but overpaid veterans who aren't going to lead to a meaningful playoff run anytime soon.
In other words, the argument of acquiring Krejci instead of White is based on finances, yet Portland hasn't done anything to take advantage of that situation.
Meanwhile, their backcourt situation hasn't gotten any clearer. Portland's backcourt was once perceived as a strength of this rebuild after investing consecutive top ten picks in Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson. Sharpe remains sidelined with a calf injury, while Henderson has struggled with inconsistent play that has been largely dependent on the level of competition.
Surprisingly, it's been their frontcourt that has suddenly become a roster strength, thanks to stealing Avdija and Toumani Camara in trades, drafting Donovan Clingan, and taking a flyer on whatever Yang Hansen could become.
With that being the case, Portland needs to continue investing in the backcourt. The 2026 draft class presents a golden opportunity to do so, assuming the Blazers don't make the postseason and their first-round pick isn't conveyed to the Chicago Bulls.
Still, the more guaranteed option would've been trading for White. He's become a key piece off the bench for the Charlotte Hornets, contributing to their end-of-season run as a dark-horse playoff team coming out of the Eastern Conference.
That easily could've been Portland, had they decided to take more of a financial risk at the deadline.