FanPost

Let the Hypothetical Trades Begin...

Bored at work on a slow Monday, waiting for the lotto....

After the brutal season it seems pretty clear some upgrades are needed. Going into next year here is where I see the roster standing (rotation guys who will actually play). Assuming Nurkic is back on something along the lines of 3 years 40-45 million, Simons is back on something around 4 year 100 million, Bledsoe is either cut for the 4.5 million or used as trade filer and we either part ways with the deadweight (Elleby, Blevins, Hughes) or they are just back of the bench not even remotely considered for the rotation.

Picks - R1 - 6th (could change depending on lottery) & R2 - 36 & 57

Roster

PG- Dame, Bledsoe, Brandon Williams

SG - Ant, Hart, Keon

SF - Nas,

PF - Winslow, Watford, Brown

C- Nurkic,

In my opinion looking at this roster as is, a starting caliber PF, back-up C, and bench wing need to be priorities.

Here are some options to fill-out the roster....(Not advocating trading Simons pro-actively, he is just our biggest trade chip right now).

Option A - "The Pipe Dream" Toronto Mega Deal

Toronto just lost in the first round to Philly and might be looking to mix things up. They have a weird mix of win-now vets like VanVleet and Siakim and young guys who are probably 2-3 years away from the next level (Barnes, OG, Trent). They are kind of stuck in no mans land without Kawhi. If Toronto signals a rebuild/retool around their young core, VanVleet and Siakim could become available. For the Blazers, Siakim makes perfect sense. This is predicated on VanVleet also being dealt by Toronto elsewhere. If that happens they have a need for a playmaking/scoring ball-dominant guard... in comes Portland.

Proposed Trade: In a sign and trade, Portland send Anfernee Simons, Eric Bledsoe, a 2025 1st round pick, and the 57th pick in the draft to Toronto for Pascal Siakim and Khem Birch.

Portland then selects Shaedon Sharpe with their lottery pick and Yannick Nzosa with the 36th pick, signs Dennis Schroder with the MLE, and fills out the roster with vet min guys.

PG - Dame, Schroder, Williams or vet min

SG - Hart, Sharpe, Keon

SF - Nas, Winslow, Vet min

PF - Siakim, Watford, Brown,

C- Nurkic, Birch, Nzosa

Option 2 - "The Most Likely" - Portland Brings in Grant

This is well documented. Grant doesn't seem to want to be in Detroit and doesn't fit their plans moving forward. He is a free agent in 2023 so Detroit is better off getting something for him now. Grant is from Portland and the connection with Dame is there.

Proposed trade: Portland sends Eric Bledsoe, Keon Johnson, Didi Louzada, Mil 2025 1st round pick, and 36th pick in 2022 for Jerami Grant and Kelly Olynyk (TE used).

Portland then drafts Benedict Mathurin with their top 8 pick and Christian Koloko in the 2nd round doubling up on AZ kids and fills out the roster with vet mins.

PG - Dame, Simons, vet min

SG - Simons, Hart, Mathurin

SF - Nas, Winslow, Mathurin

PF - Grant, Watford, Winslow

C- Nurkic, Olynyk, Koloko

Option 3 - "The Longshot/Go for it" - Blazers new & improved Dame/CJ

Rumblings have been going on for years now that Bradley Beal might be moved. He will have a 36 million dollar option this off-season and if he doesn't pick it up he will be an unrestricted free agent so this would require a sign & trade or for him to pick-up the option, agree to the deal with an extension in Portland lined up. Dame and Beal are known pals and if Portland wanted to commit to going all-in now, this could be the move. Washington might be ready to move on and netting a rising star in Simons might help land Beal. If Portland lands Beal they would still need to address the PF/Wing issues, thus the follow up trade.

Proposed Trade(s): In a sign and trade, Portland sends Anfernee Simons, the 2022 6th pick, 2022 57th pick, and Justice Winslow (plus TE) to Washington for Bradley Beal (player option exercised - agrees to extension) and Ish Smith.

Portland then sends Eric Bledsoe, Keon Johnson, Didi Louzada, Mil 2025 1st round pick, and 36th pick in 2022 for Jerami Grant and Kelly Olynyk (TE used)

Portland uses MLE on Nic Batum

PG - Dame, Ish, Hart, Williams

SG - Beal, Hart, Vet Min,

SF - Nas, Batum, Vet Min

PF - Grant, Watford, Brown

C - Nurkic, Olynyk, Vet Min

Obviously, these are just ideas that come to mind for the types of players we could or should (IMO) target. I tried to make deals that could make sense for both sides here and worked money wise. Obviously, Toronto might say we aren't trading Siakim, Washington might say the same about Beal, etc. These are just the type of deals I could see us pursuing. That to say as well, I am not necessarily advocating we need to trade Simons either just because he was included in two of the packages (he is just our biggest asset). Curious to hear peoples thoughts or packages they might put together!

Go Blazers!