Should The Blazers Target Thad Young?

The Portland Trail Blazers need to find a way to fix their defense.

After last night’s blowout loss to the Boston Celtics, the Blazers rank dead last in the league in defensive rating.

Something has to change and this team could use some new blood.

With newly-acquired players able to be traded next week, the Blazers might benefit from making a call to the San Antonio Spurs to inquire about Thaddeus Young.

Young is struggling to find playing time amongst a rebuilding Spurs roster that is opting to play its younger players.

The Blazers started off strong defensively under Billups, part of one of the best defensive teams in NBA history: the 2004 Detroit Pistons. However, the quality in defense has begun to wane in the past few games.

For years, the Blazers looked to swap out players around Lillard to help with the defensive woes. Then, this offseason, the front office believed a coaching change was necessary. But now the Blazers are locked in with Billups, and they need to flip back to the players if they want to point a finger.

Young is an upcoming free agent, and a simple swap for Robert Covington would get the job done contract-wise. A small deal like that could make a large impact, and it’s something interim general manager Joe Cronin should look into.