The Portland Trail Blazers are .500 with less than two weeks until the NBA trade deadline. After four straight seasons of tanking (or something close to it), the Blazers are competitive once again, and it doesn't sound like they want to change that. In fact, they want to get more competitive by adding talent at the deadline, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, who said recently that:
"...League sources have painted the Blazers as potential buyers during this Trade Season, with Portland said to be looking to be opportunistic before the onrushing deadline to help its playoff push."
That's exciting! And why not? Portland is already too good to bottom out and pray for a top-four pick in this year's draft, so the front office might as well go all-in and try for some postseason fireworks. Joe Cronin has become a cult hero in PDX for making moves that his predecessor was afraid to make, and a savvy win-now deal at the deadline would only strengthen his reputation among fans who are loving this surprise season from the team.
Winning, as it turns out, is fun.
Blazers might as well try to keep winning after surprise start
This team is already playing with house money; an interim head coach, tons of injuries, and asking for production from extremely unlikely sources, the Blazers keep ripping off unlikely win after win. If they can add real NBA talent without sacrificing any of the core young players or unprotected first-rounders, then I am fully on board.
Hell, even a risky move for an established veteran that does require parting with an important asset could be worthwhile! That's how they got Deni Avdija, after all. They gave two first-rounders to Washington for Avdija — one ended up being Bub Carrington, and one won't be used until 2029. In retrospect, that's an incredible deal for the Blazers, and if there's a similar deal out there over the next two weeks, why not take it?
Blazers have a few untouchable assets
Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe are not on the trade block under any circumstances. Outside of those guys, Cronin should at least listen to trade offers if they include high-level veterans coming back Portland's way.
That's not to say that he should be wheeling and dealing or offering up Donovan Clingan or Toumani Camara in trades. But an open-mindedness is what has made Cronin such a great leader in this front office up to this point, so there's no reason to change that now.
In the end, I don't know what "buying" at the trade deadline looks like for these Blazers. Is it a huge swing like Karl-Anthony Towns (there is a Clingan, Grant, Thybulle and picks package that works financially, for the record) or Michael Porter Jr? Or is it a medium-sized move like RJ Barrett?
Whatever "buying" means to Joe Cronin, I love the plan, and I think most Blazers fans will, too. The can has been kicked down the road enough the past four years; it's time to win as much as possible because that is the point of this all, after all.