Portland Trail Blazers: Free agent forwards to consider
Derrick Favors, Utah Jazz (Photo by Frenchieinportland, via Wikimedia).
Eliminating some externals
Some Blazers fans got excited over rumors of Robin Lopez resigning with the team. Aside from the confusing RoCo and RoLo on the same team, Nurkic does the same thing Lopez does and at this point, much better. Should Collins become more of a role player, it’s better for Portland to go in a different direction.
Also, out of the picture is the plethora of available guards on the market. If the bubble showed the Blazers anything, it’s that Dame, C.J., and Gary Trent Jr. make for a great backcourt trio. Additionally, Anfernee Simons continues to improve. Unless the Blazers make a trade, no free agent worth anything will sign with Portland to be the team’s fifth guard.
There are some players who will get a little more money but the Portland Trail Blazers would excel with them in the lineup. To land any of them might take some creative cap maneuvering.
Money men
Derrick Favors 29-years-old, 6 foot, 9 inches, $17M: 2019 – 14.4 minutes, 9.6 points, 9.9 rebounds per game.
Favors will make nowhere near what he did on his last deal. He’s exactly the kind of hard-nosed glass monster the Blazers need. New Orleans was a much better team with him on the court than they were with him on the bench. If Favors could play alongside Zion Williamson, he should be able to play with Nurk.
Paul Millsap 35, 6-7, $30M: 2019 – 24.3 mpg, 11.6 ppg, 5.7rpg, 43.5% 3-pt.
At almost 36-years-old and down to less than 30 minutes per game, Milsap has to know this is the end of the line. He’s the perfect player to alternate with Collins. Would Milsap be willing to take less to play for a contender? Probably so.
Jerami Grant 26, 6-8, $9.3M: 2019 – 26.6 mpg, 12.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 38.0 3-pt.
An excellent defender who can cover almost any position on the court, much like Covington. Grant doesn’t take many threes, but when he does, he can bury them. The forward declined a $9.3M option, so he’s looking for a raise. If Portland does land Grant, it will be part of a sign-and-trade.