The Portland Trail Blazers have a few different moves they can make at the 2024 NBA trade deadline. They could offload veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon for what would likely be a late first-round pick. They could send Jerami Grant to a contender in need of a three-and-D forward.
They could even make a massive splash and deal 24-year-old guard Anfernee Simons for a considerable return.
The closer we get to the Feb. 8 deadline, though, the more it seems like the Blazers' desire to make a trade is dwindling.
But would it be the worst idea to keep Brogdon, Grant, Simons and the rest of the roster as currently constructed?
The Trail Blazers don't have to make any trades at the deadline
The No. 1 goal of the 2023-24 season is player development - and though Portland would never admit it, a record bad enough to have a shot at another top-3 draft pick.
The franchise is certainly on track to complete undiscussed goal No. 2; the more critical question is whether head coach Chauncey Billups and his staff have done enough through three-plus months to have the team on track to accomplish goal No. 1.
The Blazers might not have any all-stars or a runaway rookie of the year, but there's no denying that a good chunk of the roster has improved. Some gems have even been unearthed entirely. There's some credence to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" argument right now.
Here are three reasons why making no move could be the right move for Portland's front office.
1. Player improvement is already evident
There were high expectations for Scoot Henderson, the Blazers No. 3 pick in June's draft. Things have not gone as the franchise hoped.
Scoot got off to a slow start before getting injured. He was wildly inefficient, turnover prone and couldn't help himself committing fouls. Through his first 20 NBA games, he averaged 11.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists while committing 3 turnovers and nearly 4 fouls.
In his last 15, he's averaging 14.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg and 5.1 apg while lowering his foul count to 2.3 a night. He's shooting 33.3 percent from three. That stretch includes two double-doubles and a 33, 7 and 9 game.
Shaedon Sharpe has struggled with injuries recently, but he was the team's lead offensive option for the first six weeks of the season while Simons was hurt. He scored in double figures in 19 of the Blazers' first 20 games, including a five-game span in which he averaged 26.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists on 53/47/81 shooting splits.
Second-year forward Jabari Walker is now a mainstay in Billups' starting lineup. Duop Reath has gone from total unknown to legitimate NBA center and has played a crucial role while Deandre Ayton goes in and out of the lineup with injuries and underperforms when he does play.
This is Simons' first year as Portland's go-to scorer and he's met, if not surpassed, expectations. It's his first year playing minutes as a full-time point guard as well, and he's averaging a career-high in assists.
The most important pieces of the franchise's future are getting better.
2. The Blazers are already in line for a top draft pick
Unlike the last few seasons, it's pointless for Portland to trade away established veterans and come up with mysterious injuries to lose more games at the end of the year and increase draft lottery odds.
As of Jan. 26, the Trail Blazers have the fifth-worst record in the NBA at 13-31, and there's no evidence to show that the team will go on some sort of run and win eight out of 10 games to launch themselves from the fifth-best lottery odds to eighth. It's clear that Portland is already one of the league's lousiest teams.
And the 2024 draft class is underwhelming anyway, to say the least. There's no Victor Wembanyama or even Brandon Miller or Henderson. The highest-rated prospects will likely be in the eye of the beholder. Landing the No. 5 pick rather than the first pick won't be drastically disappointing like it might be in other years.
The Blazers are already bad. They don't have to rush to get any worse.
3. The young guns still aren't ready for the big stage
Yes, Henderson has improved since the beginning of the season. But he's still an inefficient shooter and turns the ball over too much. Despite his athleticism, explosion and strength, for some reason, he still has trouble finishing at the rim. Sometimes he looks in control of the offense, sometimes he looks like he doesn't know where to go with the ball or what to do.
Certain aspects of Sharpe's development compare favorably to Jayson Tatum at this stage of his career. But he averaged 37 minutes and 15 shot attempts while Simons was out - too many for a 20-year-old who went straight from high school to the NBA - and has been injured for all but six of the Trail Blazers' last 18 games.
During those six games, Shaedon scored 12.3 points per with shooting splits of 38/20/82. He could use some more developmental time and less "we need you to score to win games" time.
Toumani Camara was a pleasant surprise to begin the season. He eventually earned a spot in Billups' starting lineup, but his play stagnated and he's since been relegated back to the bench in favor of Walker. Reath is playing well, but his 18-minute-per-game average is a bit too high for someone who's played a total of 32 NBA games.
Keeping Brogdon around would be a huge sigh of relief for Henderson and Sharpe and to an extent, Simons. Having Grant around as the primary offensive option at times would take even more off that trio's shoulders. Even having Matisse Thybulle available as a bench option gives Billups a veteran who can play minutes at guard or on the wing.
The players that need to be developing are getting better. But that doesn't mean it's time to throw them in the fire and let them play 40 minutes a night with no safety net.
It might be boring, but staying quiet at this year's trade deadline may be the best option for Portland's future.