Sure its possible we trade Hart;
But its possible we trade Nurk, he looks overpaid.
Ant is great but maybe the team would be better with a star wing next to Dame instead of a similar guard and another team would want Ant's upside.
Maybe Grant is going to be overpaid, is a poor rebounder, and the team wants to avoid luxury tax his contract could have in 2027.
Maybe Sharpe value has jumped throughout the league and the Blazers have a chance to sell high for a boatload of picks.
NAS is locked into a reasonable contract, maybe a tax team wants to trade for that cost certainty.
Dame has proven he has recovered and is playing elite, maybe he can now get that monster all time great trade offer with a young stud and tons of picks.
You could put rationale of why it makes sense to trade any player on the Blazers. Yes players can be traded, thats how the NBA has always worked.
Yes Hart could become more expensive on his next contract. But he also could resign on a reasonable deal, that is something to figure out first in the summer, and secondly by the February 2024 trade deadline when luxury tax is set. The pending possible increase of his salary would hurt his value in a trade just as much as it hurts his value to the Blazers, so it's doesn't definitively mean he is more or less likely to be traded.
You could alternatively make arguments that Hart has even more value to the Blazers with his contract in that the Blazers can try to resign him on a bargain contract, he appears to enjoy being with this group and may consider resigning at a more reasonable rate, and the Blazers can use the excuse of luxury tax concerns to bargain a reasonable rate. If another team trades for Hart they would be forced to resign for him or admit they gave up value for a player who walked for nothing months later. That puts a ton of pressure on the acquiring teams GM and harms their ability to negotiate a reasonable contract.
