Portland Trail Blazers: The Blazers are being pulled in opposite directions. They are way ahead of schedule at 27-27, to the point that Neil Olshey, the team's deal-makin' GM, might pivot into "buy" mode if he finds a young-ish player who fits the timeline of
Damian Lillard and
C.J. McCollum. The Blazers have pursued Monroe before, and despite Milwaukee striking a strong pose in some talks, Monroe could be had if some suitor tosses in a decent first-round pick.
Portland has $20 million in cap room to play with, plus two restricted free agents --
Allen Crabbe and
Meyers Leonard -- due big raises under the skyrocketing cap. Teams queasy about paying their restricted free agents ditched them at least season's deadline, when
Brandon Knight,
Reggie Jackson and
Enes Kanter flew around the league.
The Blazers are high on Crabbe, but Leonard's asking price in preseason extension talks gave them sticker shock. (The restricted free-agency thing is yet another reason to keep an eye on Boston, with both
Jared Sullinger and
Tyler Zeller ticking toward it).
Alas, the Blazers owe their pick to Denver if they make the playoffs, and given Olshey's draft record, he might prefer to keep it. My best guess: Portland avoids an upgrade, uses its space to nab a couple of extra second-rounders and resumes its pursuit of Monroe -- or someone else -- around draft time.
