Portland Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin has done a serviceable job thus far but there are still trades that predate his tenure that are impacting the Blazers. Even the most forgettable trades are still impacting Portland in 2025.
Back in 2020, the Blazers made what seemed like an inconsequential trade with the Sacramento Kings, acquiring veteran Trevor Ariza in the process. Fast forward five years later and Ariza is out of the league while the Blazers are still paying the price of this trade.
The last piece of that trade has been finalized at long last after the No. 39 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. With it completely wrapped up, here is how the completed version of the trade looks:
Trail Blazers receive:
- Trevor Ariza
- Wenyen Gabriel
- Caleb Swanigan
Trail Blazers send:
- Kent Bazemore
- Anthony Tolliver
- Tyler Smith (No. 33 pick in 2024)
- Alijah Martin (No. 39 pick in 2025)
Trail Blazers' head-scratching Trevor Ariza trade is finalized
It's ironic the Blazers are still paying for a trade they made five years ago that had such an inconsequential impact on the team. Ariza ended up playing only 21 games for Portland that season before signing with the Miami Heat in free agency.
Wenyen Gabriel played in 19 games off the bench before leaving the Blazers that offseason. Swanigan averaged three points per game off the bench in 20 games and was out of the NBA after the 2019-20 season.
The players the Blazers sent to Sacramento in this trade were inconsequential, although it's impossible to say what the upside of Smith and Alijah Martin will be. Smith was taken by the Milwaukee Bucks last season and averaged just 5.3 minutes per game in 23 games played.
The Bucks acquired the pick in a four-way trade for Serge Ibaka that involved the Kings. That trade also included Donte DiVincenzo and Marvin Bagley III.
The Raptors ended up taking Martin with the No. 39 pick in this year's draft. Toronto acquired the pick in a trade with the Kings for Jalen McDaniels.
This trade could wind up being completely inconsequential if the two second-round picks don't amount to anything at the NBA level. However, even if they become just rotation players, it will be a painful reminder of the time the Blazers gave second-round picks away for nothing.