Apart from all the Tom Dundon drama, one talking point has dominated the offseason discourse around the Portland Trail Blazers: the guard rotation.
In reacquiring Damian Lillard, the Blazers have also reacquired the same problem that Lillard faced in his first Portland stint, having far too many guards on the roster. With the buy-low plundering of Ja Morant from the Memphis Grizzlies, the Blazers once again have a backcourt glut featuring three All-Stars at the point with Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson also vying for minutes.
Kenny Nosay of TotalProSports by way of Yahoo! Sports has an idea for the guard release valve: Swap Jrue Holiday for Andrew Wiggins, with some filler thrown around to smooth things out.
Jrue Holiday-Andrew Wiggins trade idea solves Blazers' logjam
You may remember Andrew Wiggins as the premier “generational prospect” of his era, playing one season at Kansas before being selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the first pick in the 2014 draft before going on to win Rookie of the Year. Since then, he’s been traded twice but remains remarkably consistent.
Since being traded from Minnesota to Golden State, Wiggins has developed a reputation as a defensive-minded player; his advanced stats certainly reflect that. The concept of being a “good defender” is notoriously difficult to quantize, but the best advanced defensive metrics that currently exist paint Wiggins in a positive light. Averaging over a steal and a block per game in 30 minutes played is enough to convince even the most casual fan.
One of the most underrated facets of Wiggins’s game is his shooting ability. Wiggins is a career 36% shooter, but that number is anchored by his subpar—and voluminous—shooting in his earlier years. In his age-24 season, Wiggins averaged a career-high in three-point attempts (6.2) while shooting 33%. Last season, he shot 41.4% on nearly five attempts per game, and he’s shot under 37% just once in his last six seasons.
The sneakiest aspect of a potential Wiggins acquisition, and likely the biggest sticking point, is his contract. While a Holiday-Wiggins swap makes sense on paper, Holiday makes nearly the same amount next season while Wiggins’s salary is cleaved nearly in half for the next two seasons. It is that discount that will dictate both the quality and quantity of filler that will supplement any potential deal.
The setup is a Joe Cronin special—buy low on an underappreciated asset on a team-friendly deal. Since taking the reins from Neil Olshey, nearly all of Cronin’s trades have involved one or both of those components, but Dundon’s involvement may dictate the inclusion of the latter on any potential deal moving forward.
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