Portland Trail Blazers: Would You Like Some Fries With That Shake (Up)?
Andrew Elderbaum
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The NBA Trade Deadline has come and gone. Our Andrew Elderbaum has some things to say about the Portland Trail Blazers recent moves.
I am utterly perplexed. Like Baxter (Anchorman), Joe Cronin had pooped in my fridge and scarfed down the whole wheel of cheese. Forget deck chairs on the Titanic, the Portland Trail Blazers in-season trades are like worrying about smoke alarms at Chornobyl.
Over the last two trade deadlines, Cronin has moved a slew of Trail Blazers around while accomplishing nothing. It’s an impressive feat. As a Knicks fan, I am a connoisseur of ineptitude, and while this isn’t Isiah Thomas/Eddy Curry, it’s still pretty bad.
Portland’s first move was part of a four-team extravaganza. They sent Josh Hart to the Knicks for Cam Reddish and a first round pick. Additionally, Cronin got Matisse Thybulle from Philly by moving around some spare parts.
In a vacuum, that’s not a terrible deal for a rebuilding team. Unfortunately, the Blazers already have Damian Lillard, Jusuf Nurkic, and Jerami Grant in an effort to maximize what’s left of Lillard’s prime.
How does trading a quality rotation player for a late first rounder, a guy who’s so bad offensively that his All-NBA defense can’t get him on the floor, and finally, a bag of magic beans from Duke (Reddish) help the Portland Trail Blazers to do that? But wait, there’s more!
Cronin then turned around and traded Gary Payton II back to Golden State. In return, they got another toolsy failed Knicks forward in Kevin Knox and 5 second round picks. It’s hard to see how these moves are getting the team primed for a deep playoff run.
Or if Payton’s medical history will void the trade, which does neither team any good.