Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers (photo by All-Pro Reels via Flickr).
Stop me if you’ve heard this before. The Portland Trail Blazers have a backcourt with superstar Dame Lillard, a borderline all-star running mate, and a young third guard oozing potential who needs minutes. Anfrenee Simons has graduated to the McCollum spot, and newcomer Shaedon Sharpe is now the guy being held back. The more things change…
The Blazers have fallen back to earth after a hot start and are the borderline play-in team we all knew they were. Lillard is another year older and getting more expensive by the season. Jerami Grant has been the good version of Jerami Grant, and Jusuf Nurkic seems to be running on fumes.
Portland has purchased a timeshare at the franchise crossroads and has no intention of moving one way or the other. The time has come for Portland Trail Blazers General Manager Joe Cronin to blow things up and rebuild around his young backcourt.
Grant, Josh Hart, Nurkic, and, yes, Dame should all be available. Time to work the phones
My first call would be to the Lakers.
A deal of Lillard and Nurkic in exchange for Russell Westbrook and Damian Jones, along with the Lakers unprotected 2027 and 2029 first-round picks, should work. Lillard gives the Lakers a better player than they would have gotten in Kyrie Irving, and Nurkic allows Anthony Davis to play most of his minutes at the 4, easing some wear and tear on the fragile “Brow.”
Portland would get a youngish big who flashed potential in Sacramento and two first rounder that would come to Rip City just as the Lakers should be crashing. Lebron will be owning a team in Vegas or playing out the string with his son somewhere; Lillard will be 37, and Davis may have had a limb fall off his body on the floor by then.
These picks are either future trade assets or pieces for the next Portland Trail Blazers contending team.
My next call would be to Brooklyn.
They have a glut of wings, are capped out, and have those Mavs picks. I’d offer Jerami Grant and Josh Hart for Ben Simmons, Cam Thomas, and those Dallas picks.
Brooklyn is trying to convince Kevin Durant they can still contend. Grant and Hart add scoring and defense. The Nets would have an endless supply of 3 and D wings to pair with Nic Claxton, KD, and Spencer Dinwiddie.
In this deal, Cronin would roll the dice with Simmons, who might put himself back together out of the spotlight. He would bring the size, defense, and playmaker that the Portland Trail Blazers lack.
While expensive, Simmons only has two years left on his deal and will become a huge expiring contract after next season. So if it doesn’t work in Rip City, he becomes a tradeable asset.
Thomas looks like a potential Vinny Johnson sixth man as a guard. With the Dallas and Brooklyn picks, Portland would be a factor in any disgruntled player trades and would clear enough cap space to get an impact free agent.
Would the Lakers or Nets take these deals? Up until this week, I’d have said no for the Lakers. The fact they offered their picks for Kyrie changed my thinking.
Lillard may be older but is more reliable from a physical and mental standpoint, and might convince them they have a chance to win the title. They’d be wrong, but still…
Brooklyn would probably love to move on from Simmons, and they still hope to make a run with KD this year. Jerami Grant, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Josh Hart would become immediate rotation players and would more than offset the losses of Irving and Simmons.
The Nets would be a better team, and I believe they would jump at the deal. Portland could finally jump into a rebuild with both feet. The foundational pieces would be the 23-year-old Simons, 19-year-old Sharpe, and possibly the 26-year-old Simmons.
Nassir Little has struggled to stay on the court but is only 22. When the smoke clears, The Portland Trail Blazers would keep their first rounder over the next season or two as it’s top 14 protected.
In the next few years, Portland has time to evaluate what Simons and Sharpe can be. If Simmons can be even 80% of what he was before, that’s a big win.
The Blazers have been running in place for years, and as long as Lillard is on the roster, that’s all they can be. By moving on from Dame and accepting his era is over, Portland can take a step or two back to allow themselves to sprint forward.
Take the plunge, Joe!