Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers (photo by Erik Drost via Wikimedia)
The Portland Trail Blazers’ roster has a few holes to fill. One of them is the starting center. Jusuf Nurkic, their center for the last few seasons, is an unrestricted free agent.
There’s a genuine possibility the Bosnian Beast doesn’t suit up for the Blazers next season. After the team’s first-round exit last season, Nurkic did say he wasn’t sure if he’d be back. Now that team is flirting with a rebuild and Nurkic is a UFA, does he decide to take his talents elsewhere?
If the Portland Trail Blazers have to replace Nurk, their in-house options are local boy Drew Eubanks and undrafted rookie Trendon Watford. In my opinion, Watford has the higher ceiling of the two. However, as of right now, he’s a rotational big man and should not be viewed as a starter. Eubanks had his best season in 2021-22, but he should up good numbers when he’s getting close to 30 minutes a game. Even though Eubanks improved this year, he’s a career fourth-string, big man.
What other options are available to the Portland Trail Blazers in filling this spot?
Among pending Free agents, the center position doesn’t offer many good candidates. Nurkic would probably be the best one to hit the market. Another route is the draft. Portland has the seventh overall pick, and there are options for them. It would have been if C.J. McCollum didn’t lead New Orleans into the playoff so Portland could have the Pelicans lottery pick, number 8.
General Manager Joe Cronin could stay at seven and draft the best overall player. Or he could look to trade back and pick up some more assets. Unfortunately for the Portland Trail Blazers, this draft class isn’t brimming with centers. There might be a couple of good options available for them in Jalen Duren (Memphis) and Frank Williams (Duke).
On issue is that the Portland Trail Blazers need players that can contribute now and in the future. WIth where they’re drafting and who might be available, it’s most likely this player isn’t an immediate contributor. So, this leaves trading for a center as the only remaining and probably the best avenue. Once thought to be available this summer, there’s in now talk, coming out of Pheonix, that Deandre Ayton might be back.
Beware of wild trade speculation.
Each team needs to give something of value to get something of value. So, hoping Portland trades Eubanks for Joel Embiid is a waste of time. Sure it’s a deal that benefits the Portland Trail Blazers. But why would Philadelphia want Eubanks in exchange for one of the best players in the game?
With that out of the way, let’s look at a more realistic option. This is only an ember, which means there haven’t been any reports of the two sides getting together to talk trades, but it is a very logical situation.
Indiana is in a somewhat similar situation to the Blazers. Maybe they’re a bit closer to a rebuild than Portland. There’s chatter coming out of Indiana that a few of their players are expected to be moved this offseason. Those players are Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner, and possibly Buddy Hield. In order of best fit for the Portland Trail Blazers, it’s Turner, Heild, and Brogdon.
Most of the NBA knows what Turner can and can’t do by now. He’s a rim-protecting, three-point-shooting big man. He can form an excellent pick and pop or pick and roll game with Damian Lillard. That’s based on what he’s done so far, but Turner has never played with a point guard of Dame’s quality.
The gamble with Turner is that he’s under contract for only this season. Does Cronin make the trade and a) give Turner an immediate extension or b) let him prove himself to the team and Dame? Of course, if Turner has a great year, he might want more money than the Blazers can give him. Leaving Rip City right back in this same situation next off-season.
If Portland immediately signs Turner to an extension or does a sign and trade with Indiana, he will likely be cheaper than Ayton. Turner projects to be around $20M a year, whereas Ayton wants around $35M. By landing Turner, Portland still has some cap space to use on re-signing Anfernee Simons and possibly getting another Josh Hart-like quality player.
Ayton is younger and a better rebounder than Turner. There is also the thought his game can go to another level with the development or encouragement of a jump shot. The former number one overall draft pick in 2018 shoots 75 percent from the free-throw line. It’s not far-fetched to think he can extend his range to at least that far, if not the three-point line.
A trio of Lillard, Anfernee Simons, and Ayton probably has a higher ceiling (making it to the Western Conference Finals at worst). However, if Ayton’s shot isn’t “unlocked,” it’s highly debatable if he’s a max contract player. Then he’s just a younger and more athletic version of Nurkic.
So, in my opinion, if the Portland Trail Blazers want to “have their cake and eat it too” (I never understood that as I get my birthday cake and eat, so who’s stopping me?), their best route to go is trading with Indiana to get Turner.
Now, what my the trade package be to acquire him? The easiest and simplest trade might be the Portland Trail Blazers trading the number seven overall pick, using their trade exception, and acquiring Turner. Sure, Indiana would like Hart and probably Nassir Little or maybe Keon Johnson or Greg Brown III. But it’s hard to believe Portland would trade these young, cheap, ascending players, and is it enough to get Turner?
Again, Indiana might be a bit closer to a rebuild than Portland. However, the Pacers operate more with a re-load attitude than a full-on “trust the process” (like some other clubs) rebuilds. In addition, Rip City’s playoff window is still open. Therefore, GM Joe Cronin needs to make moves sooner rather than later to help the team. Meanwhile, Indiana is just getting started on installing their own playoff window.
They are not likely to be competing for the 2022-23 playoffs. This is why simply trading the draft pick to Indiana might be the best way for Portland to acquire Turner. For Indiana, this deal jump starts a pseudo rebuild with the sixth and seventh overall picks. Or Indiana could package the two picks to move up and get one of the top four players.
A win-win trade in sports doesn’t always happen. This scenario could be just one of those instances. For Rip City fans, Turner might not be the big man they think Portland should get this offseason. However, he might be the best big man that fits with the Blazers.