Portland Trail Blazers: A busy 2023 offseason ahead
We re-assess what the Portland Trail Blazers accomplished at the trade deadline and how they set the table for a busy summer.
We re-assess what the Portland Trail Blazers accomplished at the trade deadline and how they set the table for a busy summer.
The Portland Trail Blazers future plans are coming into focus. Their deadline acquisitions look like a precursor for something bigger.
Before looking ahead, we look back at a hectic start to the calendar year.
1 – NYK
With the growing suspicion that Josh Hart would opt out of his contract, it left the Portland Trail Blazers with the uneasy feeling of probably losing him for nothing. For a team low on assets, that was a risk they didn’t want to take.
In return for Hart, New York sent a 2023 lottery-protected first round pick and 23 year-year-old forward Cam Reddish. Portland took a low-risk flyer on the former lottery pick as a throw-in.
Though results on Reddish have been mixed, he has made his case for being re-signed this summer. He’s been a better facilitator and scorer than almost any other Blazers bench player.
The real value in this trade is the first-round pick. This is the key to unlocking Portland’s trade abilities this summer.
This opens up Portland’s ability to trade up to four future first-rounders this summer to better equip next season’s roster. Also, where they start replacing Josh Hart’s spot in the starting lineup. Reddish improves the bench unit, while the pick enables the ability to improve the starting lineup.
2 – Philly
Just like the addition of Cam Reddish, Matisse Thybulle was brought in as a test run to see if he could fit in as a solid rotational player that could be re-signed this offseason. Acquiring Thybulle for only two second round picks, this trade looks like a steal.
With two trips to the NBA all-defensive team in his first three seasons, he immediately became Portland’s best defender on a team sorely lacking in the defense department.
Since coming to Rip City, he is averaging 8.1 PPG on 46% from the field and 38% from the three-point range. Thybulle is proving he’s not as big of a liability on offense as his last team made him out to be.
Portland may decide to move on from their current starting shooting guard, Anfernee Simons, to try and upgrade another position. In that case, Thybulle isn’t a bad stop-gap option at shooting guard until Shaedon Sharpe is ready to claim the starting spot.
3 – GP2 Round Robin
This is probably the strangest of the Portland Trail Blazers deadline trades. Acquiring Kevin Knox, an end-of-the-bench, out-of-rotation player, along with five second rounders for Payton, who was once thought to be the Blazer’s answer on perimeter defense.
GP2 didn’t fit in with the team and clashed with his teammates. This deal was addition by subtraction.
In the end, these last two trades turned out to be Matisse Thybule, Kevin Knox, and three second-rounders for Gary Payton II.
If necessary, Portland could use some of these second round picks as either a sweetener to help get that Chicago pick back or perhaps fill their backup center opening if Cronin strikes out in free agency.