With less than a month to go until the Feb. 6 trade deadline, the Portland Trail Blazers are a team to watch closely. It's apparent that a trade needs to be made to help sort out their messy roster and gain more clarity going forward in their rebuild.
The main issue surrounding the Blazers is that veterans on their roster are taking away starting roles and minutes from their young core, with players like Scoot Henderson, Deni Avdija, and Donovan Clingan all coming off the bench. That's hindering their development and preventing Portland from bottoming out as a team that has its sights set on the 2025 NBA Draft.
Another less pressing problem that eventually needs to be sorted out is their center logjam. The Blazers roster four quality centers and have no need to keep all of them. Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams III are prime trade candidates, as they overlap in both key reasons for Portland to make a move -- offloading veterans and addressing a surplus of big men.
Ayton is the Blazers' highest-paid player at $34 million, which complicates finding a landing spot for him. A much easier player to trade is Williams, who is owed $12.4 million. Several teams need a center upgrade, one of which is a familiar trade partner in the Phoenix Suns after their failed Jusuf Nurkic experiment.
Mock proposal has Jusuf Nurkic returning to Portland
Sports Illustrated's Ricardo Klein recently proposed a trade where the Suns land Williams, reuniting Nurkic with the Blazers. Here is the proposed deal in full:
Phoenix would send Denver's and their own 2031 second-round pick to Portland.
After going all-in with their big three of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal, the Suns have very little draft capital. The only other picks available for trade are their own first-round pick in 2031 and Denver's second-round pick in 2026.
It's clear the Suns' current roster construction isn't working, as they currently sit 12th in the Western Conference at 16-19. They are trying to shake things up by having Beal and Nurkic come off the bench, but no internal change will significantly fix this Suns roster. Phoenix needs to be looking for external help with a trade deadline move.
Williams is now fully healthy and would be a massive upgrade for Phoenix, providing them with much-needed rim protection, defensive versatility, and an offensive lob threat, all of which Nurkic doesn't offer. While his injury risk is concerning, the Suns have limited trade options due to their financial situation and lack of draft capital.
Williams is currently buried on Portland's depth chart. And it's clear that Clingan is their future starting center after investing a top-ten pick in the UConn big man. With that being the case, Williams is expendable for the Blazers. He doesn't quite fit into their rebuilding timeline at 27 years old and, unfortunately, is a liability, given his injury history.
Given his trade value, Rip City must sell high and move Williams. But is this the right deal for them?
Why this deal doesn't make sense for the Blazers
Trading for Nurkic doesn't make sense for several reasons. The Blazers don't need another center and should balance their roster by addressing areas of need (3-and-D wing, playmaking, shooting, etc.).
Additionally, Nurkic is 30 years old. Klein mentions that Nurkic "could serve as a short-term solution for the Blazers." But Portland is rebuilding and doesn't need a short-term solution. Making deals with that approach will hinder the long-term trajectory of their rebuild.
It's understandable if they can only receive second-round picks for Williams, given how valuable they have become under the new CBA. But if a potential deal is centered around Williams for two second-round picks and a salary filler, it shouldn't be someone like Nurkic.
He's owed $18.1 million this season and $19.4 million in 2025-26. Ideally, the Blazers would land a younger, up-and-coming player in return. But if Portland does take on a veteran who doesn't check all the boxes, hopefully, they are on an expiring deal.
Nurkic has become a negative asset, and attaching him to the deal would require even more draft capital in return.