Portland Trail Blazers: What should Rip City do with its trade exception?

The Portland Trail Blazers generated a $12.9 million trade exception by dealing Allen Crabbe to the Brooklyn Nets, but how can Neil Olshey use it most effectively? Here’s a list of four options for Rip City to consider.

The Portland Trail Blazers have been expectedly quiet all summer long. With too little cap space to make any sort of meaningful change in the newly-stacked Western Conference, Rip City was somewhat forced to deal away the enormous contract of Allen Crabbe, whom many fans had hoped would continue to improve alongside the core of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.

On the bright side, the Blazers took very little back in the trade, didn’t give up any future draft picks, freed up a huge chunk of cap space, alleviated the majority of their luxury tax hit, and generated a $12.9 million trade exception.

While some may see the Crabbe deal as being a simple salary dump, Neil Olshey made no mistake in creating this $12.9 million trade exception, which is just one piece of prime evidence that points to the Crabbe deal as being the first domino to fall.

Therefore, let’s explore four scenarios currently available to the Blazers with this new trade exception at their disposal.

Option 1: Don’t use it at all

This may seem like the weirdest and least effective option of the four, but it actually makes a lot of sense when you take into account the current state of Portland’s payroll and where the Blazers stand in the West.

Neil Olshey and Paul Allen understand they aren’t contenders. It would take a monumental move to push the Blazers up into the upper echelon.

In fact, considering that Kyrie Irving no longer wants anything to do with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Golden State Warriors look to be the lone NBA superpower, and it’s HIGHLY unlikely any type of move puts them on Golden State’s level.

In addition, such a move would likely add another big contract to manage long-term. The Blazers already have the undeservingly high contracts of Meyers Leonard and Evan Turner to worry about, not to mention the impending contract extension of Jusuf Nurkic in 2018.

Netting another big contract by use of the trade exception would essentially undo all the cap relief that resulted from the Crabbe deal. Whether Paul Allen is willing to literally pay that price — and then some — is unknown.

Option 2: Use it in a trade FOR Melo

There’s been a lot of news circulating around Carmelo Anthony and where he stands with the New York Knicks. It’s no secret the Knicks want him gone. Unfortunately, they’ve been having trouble finding a deal for him since Anthony has a no-trade clause in his contract.

Melo has reportedly expressed interest in joining James Harden, Chris Paul and the Houston Rockets. The Oklahoma City Thunder have also been involved in Melo trade rumors. The Cleveland Cavaliers were on Melo’s short list of desired destinations as well.

In more Portland-related news, Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum have been reportedly trying to recruit Melo, hoping to convince him to waive his no-trade clause in favor of joining the Trail Blazers.

Were Lillard and McCollum to be successful in this endeavor, the Blazers could trade either Evan Turner or Maurice Harkless (with the latter being the more likely of the two to be dealt), along with Meyers Leonard and Pat Connaughton — who’s currently living on borrowed time with the Blazers — for Carmelo Anthony. Most likely, draft picks would have to be involved, but here’s the basic idea:

Using the trade exception, the Blazers could take on the salary of a Knicks player like Lance Thomas or Chasson Randle, bolstering Portland’s depth at the wing spot.

Option 3: Use it in a trade involving Melo

Let’s be real: Any trade idea that involves Carmelo Anthony leaving the New York Knicks to play with the Portland Trail Blazers is a pipe dream. While things could change as soon as tomorrow, Melo has already gone on record saying he has no interest in waiving his no-trade clause for Rip City.

However, the Blazers could still end up using the trade exception in a potential deal involving Anthony, only Melo would be going to Houston instead of Portland. In this case, the Blazers would receive Ryan Anderson and Trevor Ariza in a three-team trade, sending Meyers Leonard, Maurice Harkless and Pat Connaughton to the Knicks.

While I’m not exactly a fan of the Blazers nabbing Anderson due to his reputation as a poor defender, his ability to space the floor is definitely a tool that Terry Stotts would love having in his offense, especially considering the Blazers front office just traded away the second most efficient three-point shooter in the NBA.

It’s also important to understand that we have yet to see Nurkic in a full season with the Blazers. Inserting Anderson’s outside shooting ability right beside an inside scorer like Nurkic could prove to be the right move if Nurkic proves to be a reliable rim protector in Portland’s system.

And as I mentioned in my proposed trade for Paul George, Portland’s reputation for being poor defensively stems from their inability to guard the perimeter rather than their overall ability to defend the paint, which is why the trade exception is such a key part of making this deal work.

With the trade exception, the Blazers become eligible to absorb Trevor Ariza’s contract. Not only does Rip City get another guy to help space the floor, but they also add a guy that ranked 15th in the NBA in deflections per game, 12th in opponent’s turnovers per game, and 33rd in personal fouls drawn.

For the sake of comparison: Paul George held opponents to 35.7 percent shooting from behind the arc. McCollum held opponents to 37.8 percent from behind the arc, while Lillard held opponents to 36.4 percent. Crabbe (36.6), Harkless (36.6), Turner (37.0), and Shabazz Napier (40.2) each posted marks worst than that of Paul George.

Trevor Ariza held opponents to 35.2 percent from behind the arc. Among players that had opponents shoot more than 20 three-pointers against them, Ariza ranked fifth in opponent three-point percentage.

If the Blazers prove unable to trade for someone like Jae Crowder, then using the trade exception in a trade for Ryan Anderson and Trevor Ariza would be the next best thing.

Option 4: Wait to use it until the trade deadline

This is the most realistic option for the Blazers in terms of using their $12.9 million trade exception. There’s not much the Blazers can do as it stands right now, so why not wait until a player becomes available right before the trade deadline?

Not only does this give the Blazers more time to construct a valid trade proposal, but it also gives them a chance to see what kind of a difference Nurkic makes playing an entire season with the already established core of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. The Blazers would then be better prepared to think about what exactly the team needs moving forward.

And while it’d be great if Portland was able to find a way to add another productive player to fit their system, waiting to decide on how to use the exception would also give Paul Allen time to decide whether the best course of action would be to dump more salary in an attempt to get under the luxury tax threshold.

Who knows? Maybe an incredibly talented player ends up deciding he’s unhappy with his current situation midway through the season and sees the overachieving Blazers as a possible trade destination. Anything can happen.

Next: 2017 NBA free agency: Biggest winners and losers

If the Blazers are unable to make a preseason move that would put them into contention in the West, then the best course of action would be to hold off on using the exception until they’re better equipped to take advantage of the chaos right before the deadline.