The Portland Trail Blazers solved their guard logjam problem by trading away Malcolm Brogdon and picks for Deni Avdija. However, now they have another issue to solve from a roster balance standpoint: having four centers on their team.
It's a good problem to have - the Blazers landed UConn center Donovan Clingan with the No. 7 overall pick. He was widely viewed as a top-five prospect but fell to Portland due to how the draft order shook out, as teams picking before them already had established centers. But now, it makes centers Deandre Ayton, Robert Williams III, and Duop Reath more expendable in a potential trade.
Blazers send Williams and Rupert to Warriors in mock deal
Bleacher Report's Dan Favale proposed realistic NBA offseason trades that can still happen. The Blazers were involved in two deals, suggesting they are a team to monitor for the remainder of the offseason to make a move potentially. In one deal, Favale has the Blazers packaging Williams, Rayan Rupert, and draft capital to the Golden State Warriors as part of a three-team trade.
It's challenging to figure out a reasonable trade return for Williams. When healthy, he's an elite defensive weapon. The issue is that he's only played more than 35 games in two of his six seasons. The uncertainty surrounding his ability to stay on the court has to be factored into any potential deal.
Here are the details of the mock proposal: