Portland Trail Blazers: Dame on the recruiting trail for a top center

Chris Phillips   |  

May 18, 2022

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How does he fit with the Portland Trail Blazers?

By the time next season starts, Ayton will be 24-years old. He would be a perfect fit for the Portland Trail Blazers. They need to build a contender now for Dame, but with a young center, the Blazers can sustain long-term success. Ayton can be a younger and better center than Portland’s with Nurkic. Ayton would be the best big man Portland has had since LaMarcus Aldridge.

Getting Ayton to the Portland Trail Blazers is tricky. Many teams will be in the market to offer him a max contract. Also, Phoenix will be able to match any offer on Ayton. So, it’s not like he will go to the highest bidder. What is most likely to happen if it becomes evident that Ayton doesn’t want to be in Phoenix any longer is a sign and trade.

In pursuing this avenue, the Portland Trail Blazers will likely have to sign Nurkic to a deal that Phoenix is comfortable with and then trade him along with someone or thing else. The piece that might have the most value to both teams is Portland’s number seven overall draft pick.

However, the Portland Trail Blazers need to keep an eye on their future as well. Giving up their lottery pick to get Ayton might be too much, in their opinion. Would the Suns be interested in a future first? Cronin has to explore that avenue.

Ayton has another layer he can unlock, which is the ability to shoot threes. With his good shooting percentage from the free-throw line, it’s logical to think he can develop a jump shot that is at least decent from the three-point range.

Getting Ayton is a move that the Portland Trail Blazers need to consider seriously.

Do you think the Portland Trail Blazers need to go all out for Deandre Ayton? Let us know in the comments section below.

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