In a vacuum, trading back a few draft spots to pick up an additional first-round pick should be considered a win. Unfortunately for Portland, the draft-day trade with the Memphis Grizzlies gets less exciting when you add more context to it.
The Trail Blazers traded back from the No. 11 overall pick to No. 16, passing on Cedric Coward to take Yang Hansen instead. Coward just finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting, while Hansen was essentially unplayable all season for Portland.
To make matters worse, the first-round pick they picked up in the process was a 2028 via Orlando.
Blazers' draft-day trade looks worse one season later
Blazers general manager Joe Cronin bet against the young core of the Magic. That looked largely promising for most of the season, as Orlando secured only an eighth seed in the weakened Eastern Conference, failing to meet expectations.
However, part of those heightened expectations stemmed from the talent on this roster, which did not translate into regular-season wins. We're seeing them bridge that gap in the postseason, even taking a commanding 3-1 series lead over the first-seeded Detroit Pistons.
Throughout that series, it's been apparent that the Magic have been the more talented and more complete team. Although they paid a steep price in the Desmond Bane trade, he's turning out to be the exact piece they need for a deep playoff run.
It wouldn't be surprising to see Orlando in the Conference Finals this year, as they seem more talented than whoever survives the Cleveland Cavaliers/Toronto Raptors series, which has been painful to watch at times.
The scary part is, this Magic young core is only going to keep getting better and should reach their collective prime by the time that 2028 pick actually conveys.
It's great Portland landed an unprotected first-rounder just to move down a few spots and select Hansen, someone they were targeting entering the draft regardless. We must remain patient with Hansen's development as he continues to endure growing pains at the NBA level.
But one season later, it's safe to say that this draft-day decision is trending downwards for Portland.
The career trajectories of Coward and Hansen, combined with Orlando's playoff success, raise questions about whether Portland came away with a significant asset in this deal. As is, I'd much rather have the surefire asset in Coward, who looks poised to be a building block in a retooling Grizzlies team for years to come.
This postseason has proven that Portland is still a few pieces away and certainly would've benefited from adding another two-way wing in Coward. Had Detroit won a short series against Orlando, this trade may have been viewed differently. But it appears to be headed towards a late first-round pick for Portland, which isn't worth the price of missing out on a prospect like Coward.
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