The breakout campaigns of Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara have changed the entire trajectory of the Portland Trail Blazers' rebuild.
Avdija and Camara were key contributors to Portland's surprising turnaround, improving their record by 15 wins from last season. Now that they are too talented to tank for a top pick, the Blazers can consider entering the next phase of their rebuild: making a push for the playoffs. But despite the progress, they are still a piece away from being a legitimate playoff threat in the Western Conference.
Regardless of what roster shake-ups ensue in what could be a busy offseason for Portland, both wings have proven that they need to be in the starting lineup going forward. Their emergence is also the latest of several reasons why Jerami Grant no longer makes sense to keep around on this roster. The Blazers should do everything they can to get off the books of their $160 million forward, even if it means sacrificing draft capital.
Blazers address two key needs with Jerami Grant-Lauri Markkanen swap
Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey proposed a trade that simultaneously solves both problems for the Blazers, sending Grant to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Lauri Markkanen, an All-Star in 2023.
Here's the deal in its entirety:
As for why the Blazers would potentially accept this deal, Bailey wrote:
"Perhaps Portland's pluckiness convinces the front office this roster is closer to competitive than people thought coming into the campaign. If the Blazers are bullish about their young perimeter players, maybe they'd see a frontcourt upgrade like Markkanen as the missing piece. His two-way talents feel like perfect on-court fits in between Deni Avdija and Donovan Clingan."
If the Blazers decide to make another aggressive move this offseason, they must be very selective in the player they pursue, similar to how they approached the Avdija deal with the Wizards. It's essential that they aren't just throwing away draft capital to land a big name like Devin Booker in order to make the playoffs with no real championship ceiling. They need to ensure the piece is a seamless fit alongside the promising young core they have established.
From that standpoint, there may be no easier All-Star to add than Markkanen. He's a 7-footer who shoots 37.1 from beyond the arc in his career. That would bolster Portland's identity as the tallest roster in the league. It would also drastically help address their need for more shooting as a team that ranked in the bottom five the past two seasons.
The one issue in adding Markkanen is that he's an excellent player but isn't necessarily a go-to option. If the Blazers made this deal, it would signal that they are confident in their backcourt to take another leap to help take some of the playmaking burden off of Avdija, as Bailey notes.
Markkanen is also owed nearly $200 million over the next four seasons, which would significantly limit their future financial flexibility; however, it's hard to complain about that when Markkanen's play justifies his contract more than Grant's.
This is a reasonable deal for both parties, given the opposite directions that both teams should be looking to take their rebuilds this summer.