The Portland Trail Blazers find themselves without a draft pick, making it much more difficult to continue adding to their young core. However, they do have the financial flexibility to upgrade the roster via free agency or trades. If they take the former approach, Portland could bring back veterans Robert Williams III and Matisse Thybulle or use their $15 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception in free agency.
One team in particular they should look at is their Western Conference rival, the Los Angeles Lakers. Lack of depth has been an issue for Los Angeles the past few seasons, but they do have a few soon-to-be free agents that would be of value for Portland: Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, and Luke Kennard.
Marcus Smart
Smart has a $5.4 million player option he should decline, as he proved his worth this season with the Lakers.
Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes recently named Smart one of the top five "bargain-bin free agents," adding that he'll still "likely make less than the full midlevel exception of $15.1 million." That's right in Portland's price range.
Better yet, Smart is a great fit to double down on their defensive identity. He has all the traits required to win at the highest level, particularly when it comes to his defensive versatility.
Shooting efficiency is the one concern for a Blazers team that needs three-point shooting help. But Smart is at least willing to attempt to space the floor, keeping defenses honest. That's more than what can be said for Portland's current defensive-minded role players, making this a clear upgrade.
Rui Hachimura
After hovering around 30 percent from deep his first two seasons, Hachimura has quietly redefined his career as a sharpshooter. He's now shot over 40 percent from deep for three consecutive seasons with the Lakers, making this a top-priority free agency target for Portland.
The downside of his productive season is that Portland now has more competition to land Hachimura, and they may even be priced out, considering he made $18.3 million this season. But if they can somehow land Hachimura on the NTMLE, this would be the perfect addition for the Blazers.
It could even make Jerami Grant more expendable, as Portland still needs his length, floor spacing, and shot-creation in its second unit.
Luke Kennard
Kennard is the ultimate tradeoff for Portland. It ultimately depends on what direction general manager Joe Cronin wants to take the roster this summer. Do they double down on their strengths with their defensive identity, or do they strike a better roster balance with more offense?
Ideally, Portland would add shooting without compromising its defense. That may not be realistic, as that's the most coveted player archetype in the league, and likely out of their price range. The cheap, realistic solution would be to bring in a sharpshooting defensive liability like Kennard. His flaws were exposed in the Lakers' playoff series against the Thunder, but at least the Blazers have better defensive weapons to help cover for him on that end.
Considering how desperately they need reliable floor spacing, it's still a worthwhile pursuit for the Blazers.
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