If the Portland Trail Blazers wanted any shot at returning to the postseason, it was clear they needed to address their shooting woes at the trade deadline. They accomplished that by acquiring sharpshooter Vit "Heat Czech" Krejci from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for an injured Duop Reath and two future second-round picks.
This is an absolute steal for Portland as they land a reliable floor spacer who is on a team-friendly deal at just 25 years old. At the same time, there's a reason Atlanta was willing to part ways with Krejci for limited assets.
Part of that was due to the redundancy between Krejci, Luke Kennard, and Corey Kispert, as Atlanta had too many shooting specialists and could consider Krejci expendable. But another factor is that Krejci doesn't come without his flaws, particularly on the defensive end.
Blazers address shooting with Vit Krejci, but at the expense of their defensive identity
Krejci isn't a significant liability on that end of the court and has some versatility given his 6-foot-8 frame. His career defensive plus-minus is also -0.09, indicating he's only slightly below average. But it does raise questions regarding how he'll fit on Portland's defensive-minded roster.
This is a team that established a defensive identity this past summer: swapping Anfernee Simons for Jrue Holiday, bringing in the pesky Blake Wesley, and promoting defensive anchor Donovan Clingan to a starting role. However, that hasn't translated into defensive production this season. Portland has been a below-average defensive team, ranking 18th in defensive rating (115.2) and 23rd in opponent points per game (117.9). Krejci is only going to make them worse on that end of the court, making it that much more difficult to become the elite defense that general manager Joe Cronin envisions.
Ultimately, the pros of adding Krejci to this roster still far outweigh the cons. They desperately needed to add shooting, even if it meant getting worse elsewhere, to balance out this roster.
Portland has now ranked in the bottom five in three-point efficiency for three consecutive years, including this season, where they currently sit dead last at 33.6%. That hasn't stopped them from trying, launching the third most attempts in the league at 41.7 per game.
The Blazers want to push the pace and emphasize the three-ball, and Krejci will certainly fit that style of play on the offensive end. He's shot over 40% from deep for three consecutive seasons with the Hawks. On uncontested catch-and-shoot threes, that efficiency increases to 50%. Portland needed someone to space the floor for Deni Avdija and Co., and they finally found one for cheap.
Although the defensive fit remains a concern for their identity, Krejci's offensive value far outweighs the tradeoff. Portland will be better balanced going forward, which will help them in their postseason quest.