The Portland Trail Blazers are heading into the new year with a 18-17 record. Will Portland’s front office be looking to change things up?
It has been a interesting season for the Portland Trail Blazers. They are winning on the road, playing good defense, losing at home, and struggling on offense.
A recent article from John Canzano of The Oregonian talked about how Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen is feeling “antsy.”
"“The lieutenants who work at owner Paul Allen’s Vulcan, Inc. mothership have been analyzing data and asking important questions. Two NBA front-office sources said they were contacted in the last 10 days by the Vulcans and asked whether they thought the Trail Blazers struggles were due to a broken roster or poor coaching. ‘Paul is getting antsy,’ one of the league sources said. ‘He thinks they should be winning more.’"
I don’t blame Allen for thinking the Blazers should be winning more. They are $23 million over the cap and have the sixth-highest paid roster in the NBA.
Portland will also be paying Evan Turner, Mo Harkless and Meyers Leonard a combined $117.9 million over these next three seasons. If I were Paul Allen, I wouldn’t be happy about that either. They also have $222.2 million invested in C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard over the next four seasons.
The Blazers need to change things up. Either a new general manager, new coach or new players.
Right now, we are going to take a look at a few trade options for the Blazers to bring in some new faces.
A trade with the Windy city
Why the Blazers do this trade:
Holiday is a 28-year-old, 6’6″ shooting guard who has been in the league for four years. For his career he is averaging 6.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.8 steals per game while shooting 34 percent from 3-point range, and 44 percent from 2-point range. This season with the Chicago Bulls, he has started all 33 games and is averaging 13.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 36 percent from downtown and 38 percent from inside the arc.
Holiday is a long, athletic and lanky guard. He mainly plays the 2 or the 3, but has the skills to be a primary ball-handler as well. Holiday knows how to slash to the hoop and finish at the rim. He can also shoot from the 3-point line and is taking a career high 6.6 attempts this season. Holiday is an active rebounder and does not turn the ball over very much.
The Blazers could use Holiday as their sixth man. He would give the team another shooter besides Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum and is a huge improvement over Evan Turner. Turner doesn’t shoot the ball well and that doesn’t work in a Terry Stotts offense. Turner is also guaranteed $53 million over the next three seasons and Holiday is only guaranteed $9 million over two seasons.
Holiday could play with the starters but also could run the offense by himself and could give Dame and C.J. more breaks. He is a young player still trying to prove himself in the NBA and no better place to do that then Portland. He also comes with championship experience after being on that 2014-15 Golden State Warriors team.
Why the Bulls do this trade:
The Bulls should be in full rebuild mode as they are currently 13-23. They are expecting guard Zach LaVine to be healthy soon and he will most likely take over the starting 2-spot in Chicago. The Bulls don’t need Holiday and should do their best to sell high on him. Evan Turner gives them a veteran player to have in their locker room to help with the tough times of a rebuild. He can play multiple positions and defend multiple positions.
They also get a first round pick to take on Evan Turner and his large contract. When a team is in a rebuild, they need and want first round picks. Evan Turner is from Chicago and would be a fan favorite there.
A blockbuster deal
Why the Blazers do this trade
They only do this trade if they believe they can’t win with a backcourt of Lillard and McCollum. The Blazers won’t trade Lillard, so that makes McCollum the odd man out. One of if not the biggest weakness on this Blazers team has been their backcourt defense.
McCollum and Lillard are great players, but they are both small guards. They have a hard time defending players like James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Klay Thompson, Jimmy Butler and Devin Booker. They are not big enough to defend those guys and that forces Portland to hide those two on defense and have other players defend the team’s best guard.
Khris Middleton is a 6’8″ shooting guard. He has great offensive skills and is also a very good defender. The Blazers could leave Middleton guarding other team’s 2-guards. He can also defend 1s and 3s. This season, Middleton is averaging 20.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals, 35 percent from deep and 52 percent from 2-point range.
Middleton can score from all over the floor and is hard guy to defend because of his 6’8″ frame. Obviously McCollum is one of the most gifted offensive players in the league, but Middleton isn’t too shabby himself and could step in C.J.’s offensive role and produce right away. There is no question Middleton is a better defender than C.J. or Lillard.
Also coming to Portland would be former second overall pick, Jabari Parker.
Parker has been in the NBA for four seasons and is averaging 15.8 points,5.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game, shooting 34 percent from downtown and 51 percent from 2-point range.
The big issue with Parker is he is currently rehabbing his second ACL tear in three years. Parker has yet to play in the 2017-18 season but is expected to return after the All-Star break. Parker is a dominant player and when healthy has the chance to be a elite player in the league.
Jabari is 6’8″, 250 pounds and can impact the game on both ends of the floor. Parker could start at the 4-spot and maybe even the 3 for the Blazers and would play great next to a big center like Jusuf Nurkic and elite guard in Damian Lillard.
The Bucks drafted Parker with the second overall pick so they obviously believe he is a talent, but because of the injuries, they may need to sell kinda low on him. Parker is still only 22 years old and has time to get and stay healthy. The Blazers wouldn’t need to rush him into playing and could focus on getting him healthy.
Why the Bucks do this trade:
Just like the Blazers, the Bucks only do this trade if they feel they can’t win with their current roster. The Bucks are 19-15 this season. Many expected the Bucks to be a top team in the NBA this year, but it just hasn’t happened.
They are led by MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is having a great year. The Bucks are a big, long team. They need a guy like C.J McCollum to switch things up a bit. McCollum can play off the ball and is deadly with it in his hands. In his fourth season out of Lehigh, C.J. is one of the top guards in the NBA.
They traded for Eric Bledsoe, but he isn’t a weapon on offense like McCollum.
C.J. would make defenses have to double-team him and that would get more open looks for the Bucks. Also, McCollum can play off ball and get plenty of open looks when the defense sends help on the Greek Freak or a cutting Bucks player. He is a sniper from deep and that’s something the Bucks do not have right now.
Antetokounmpo wouldn’t have to do everything on offense and could rest a little bit so he can make plays on defense. The Bucks have plenty of long wing defenders to make up losing Middleton. They also get to move on from Parker and his health issues. He has two seasons left on his deal before a team option on the third.
The Bucks would need to give the Blazers either a first or second round draft pick as insurance just in case Parker gets seriously hurt a third time. Jake Layman is a throw in for the Bucks. A young, long, wing that has 3-and-D potential. They could either have Layman, Caleb Swanigan, C.J Wilcox or Pat Connaughton.
Western Conference trade
Why the Blazers do this trade:
They bring back Portland fan favorite Wesley Matthews. He played for the Blazers for five seasons and averaged 15.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game on 38 percent shooting from deep. Wes is getting paid about the same as Evan Turner but he only has two years left on his deal. Matthews is a solid 3-and-D player. He would help a lot with the backcourt defense in Portland and gives the team another shooter.
Wes can either come off the bench or start at 3-spot for the Blazers as a player that knows the city, the team and coach Terry Stotts’ system. He could come right in and help the team. Mattews was a great locker room guy so he isn’t going to come in and cause drama. The Blazers move on from Evan Turner and Meyers Leonard and bring in the 31-year-old Matthews.
Why the Mavs do this trade:
The Mavs are 13-25 and may be looking to change things up. They bring in Evan Turner and let him handle the ball with the 2nd units. He is really only effective with the ball in his hands and the Mavericks don’t have too many guys that can score one on one. Turner can also defend wings and guards. He is a strong mid range shooter and finisher at the rim.
Dallas also get Meyers Leonard, a 7’1″ center that can shoot and run the floor. Leonard just hasn’t found his role in Portland could use a change of scenery. Meyers would go to Dallas and play behind future Hall-of-Famer, Dirk Nowitzki. He could learn some post moves from Dirk and how to be a better shooter as a big man. Maybe Dallas can get something out of the former No. 11 pick. The Mavs get a draft pick for taking on Turner for an extra year.
Finishing thoughts
The Portland Trail Blazers need to do something and a trade is their best option to get better faster.
Next: 2018 NBA Mock Draft: End of 2017 edition
It will take a lot for them to part with Damian Lillard or C.J. McCollum but if this season doesn’t start to look better for the Blazers, anything could happen. Just ask Isaiah Thomas.
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