Trade Deadline/2020 Free Agent Wet Dreams

[e_blazer]

Neil Olshey's job in restocking the Blazers roster for the 2019-20 season has been very impressive. What's even more impressive to me, though, is the way he did it and how he's improved the Blazers odds of being major players at the trade deadline. What he's managed to do is to turn the relatively unappealing ending contracts of Turner, Harkless, and Leonard into the ending contracts of two players, Whiteside and Bazemore, who GM's will have legitimate interest in as roster additions. Both of these players will likely be expendable to the Blazers by the deadline. Nurkic will in all likelihood be back and in full beast mode by then. Bazemore was essentially insurance against the departure of Hood, and the Blazers were able to re-sign Hood. That's marketable ending contracts of $27 million for Whiteside and $19 million for Bazemore. So, what are your wet dream trade deadline trades to move the Blazers up to top contenders for this year's title?

Maybe there won't be any great moves available at the deadline, or maybe Bazemore and Whiteside are playing so well that the Blazers prefer not to break things up this season. If that's the case, Olshey has the option of dumping all of the ending contracts next summer (Whiteside, Bazemore, Labissiere, Hoard, and Tolliver) and maybe dumping a couple of contracts for picks (Hezonja and Trent) and opening up somewhere around $16-$17 million in cap space to acquire a quality free agent next summer. That's not max money, of course, but it could net a good player at a position of need. Certainly not a sexy of a move as something at the deadline, but who do you see as possibilities there? Here's a link to possible free agents to whet your appetite (just remember that this isn't an all you can eat dining experience; you're on a budget).

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...d-by-anthony-davis-draymond-green-kyle-lowry/

 

[TBpup]

If Nurk comes back 100% healthy and the Blazers can find another cheap backup big somewhere, I'd be quite pleased with Whiteside/+? for OPJ.

 

[Labinot41]

I think the most impressive thing about Neil is how he was able to Deal Turner, Harkless and Meyers without attaching assets like Draft picks or one of the young players, this is pretty remarkable. He has been very protective over our draft picks during this time.

 

[Natebishop3]

It's so hard to predict who's going to be unhappy or what teams are going to underperform.

There's the obvious names like Love, Griffin, etc.

The two that I want to keep an eye on are Paul George and Draymond Green. If the Warriors or Thunder aren't performing well, I could see either of those guys being moved. The Thunder desperately need an infusion of talent. Outside of Russ and PG, that team is sooooooooo thin on talent. I actually think Draymond would be perfect next to Nurk. He's the kind of guy that could help us win a championship.

 

[oldfisherman]

Want to watch at least half of a game before thinking about a trade. Let's see what we got first.

 

[e_blazer]

Ordinarily I would agree, but in this case it is obvious that Bazemore and Whiteside were acquired with an eye towards the flexibility that their ending contracts provide. Yeah, it’s too early to get serious about trade moves, but it’s never too early to dream about possibilities that could move the Blazers into top contenders this season. Hence the choice of wording for the thread title.

 

[e_blazer]

It's so hard to predict who's going to be unhappy or what teams are going to underperform.

There's the obvious names like Love, Griffin, etc.

The two that I want to keep an eye on are Paul George and Draymond Green. If the Warriors or Thunder aren't performing well, I could see either of those guys being moved. The Thunder desperately need an infusion of talent. Outside of Russ and PG, that team is sooooooooo thin on talent. I actually think Draymond would be perfect next to Nurk. He's the kind of guy that could help us win a championship.

Green and George are definitely on my short dream list.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

I'm hoping we re-sign both Whiteside and Bazemore.

 

[Cugel]

This will be a very different team than before. Excited/scared. Media's consensus is that Portland is strong in the west along with Utah, Houston, Denver, and probably the Fakers too.

 

[hoopsjock]

I'm hoping we re-sign both Whiteside and Bazemore.

Unlike the the guys we acquired last season, next summer we have Full Bird Rights on both too.

 

[dviss1]

Green and George are definitely on my short dream list.

I simply cannot root for Draymond Green. IDGAF how good he is.

 

[Reep]

Unlike the the guys we acquired last season, next summer we have Full Bird Rights on both too.

Can't remember, do we have bird rights on Hood now that he will have been with the team for two years?

 

[Reep]

I simply cannot root for Draymond Green. IDGAF how good he is.

I have such mixed feelings on this. They histrionics would get old, but the effort level and skill set would be great.

 

[Labinot41]

Can't remember, do we have bird rights on Hood now that he will have been with the team for two years?

Early bird rights

 

[Natebishop3]

Can't remember, do we have bird rights on Hood now that he will have been with the team for two years?

Yes. In a manner of speaking. We can go above the cap to offer him a bigger deal next summer.

 

[dviss1]

I have such mixed feelings on this. They histrionics would get old, but the effort level and skill set would be great.

I'd rather beat him than join him. Fuck that donkey...

 

[Reep]

Yes. In a manner of speaking. We can go above the cap to offer him a bigger deal next summer.

I like the flexibility of this setup. We removed a few players that seemed to be the weakest part of our playoff rotation, and replaced them with players that might be better fits, that we can try out for a year. After a try out, we can either keep the best fits longer or work a trade at the deadline. Seems like the best flexibility we have had in a long time.

 

[hoopsjock]

Can't remember, do we have bird rights on Hood now that he will have been with the team for two years?

The numbers for Early Bird Rights are dependent on salaries from this year and the cap number for next year but if we had Early Bird Rights on Hood this summer I think we could've offered him a little over $9 million without having to use our MLE to sign him. So next summer it will probably be around $10 million that we can offer him.

 

[B-Roy]

It's so hard to predict who's going to be unhappy or what teams are going to underperform.

There's the obvious names like Love, Griffin, etc.

The two that I want to keep an eye on are Paul George and Draymond Green. If the Warriors or Thunder aren't performing well, I could see either of those guys being moved. The Thunder desperately need an infusion of talent. Outside of Russ and PG, that team is sooooooooo thin on talent. I actually think Draymond would be perfect next to Nurk. He's the kind of guy that could help us win a championship.

Green will be a UFA.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Would you Trade...
PG for Ant, Little, Whiteside?

 

[blazerboy30]

Like others, I predict that Paul George will get frustrated with Westbrook in OKC and want out.

So PG would be my top target to keep an eye on.

I think the Warriors will still be good enough that Green won't be desperate to leave.

 

[blazerboy30]

Would you Trade...
PG for Ant, Little, Whiteside?

Absolutely.

 

[Reep]

Would you Trade...
PG for Ant, Little, Whiteside?

I would want to see how Ant and Little start out of the gate. Given Dame's window I would probably make that trade though.

 

[blazerfan11]

Talent , talent, talent. The Blazers need a player
6’6” - 6’10” who is or can be in many instances
as good or better as our current stars overall, and that plays defense.
Someone like Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, Klay Thompson, Otto Porter Jr etc.
I’m also looking for a player who scores more efficiently than our current stars.
Siakam had an eFG% last season of 59% on 12 attempts per game; that is just nuts.
One guy that doesn’t exactly fit that mold that’s on a bad team that should be a superstar is Karl Anthony Townes. Someday he’ll get fed up being in Minnesota. In any case, it’s possible the Trail Blazers have the assets right now to make Minnesota better than they are now while getting KAT. Specifically a small guard McCollum who I think would get all star consideration if he was on “his own team”. Unfortunately the Wolves will likely keep on the track record of wasting the careers of all- star-caliber players.
How about Siakam since I mentioned him. Would the raptors consider trading him if Kawhi doesn’t return?

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Like others, I predict that Paul George will get frustrated with Westbrook in OKC and want out.

So PG would be my top target to keep an eye on.

I think the Warriors will still be good enough that Green won't be desperate to leave.

I dont know if George would want to come to Portland after the wave and all the stuff that happened this year.
When Nurkic got hurt, he literally took that as an opportunity to say he didn't like Nurkic very much...

 

[SharpesTriumph]

By December there will be some teams with no chance who are interested in trading their best players for a pick.

So what teams would move on if the losses pile up?

Maybe Gallinari in LAC, Derozen or Aldridge on SAS, Bradley Beal in WAS.

There are some more.

Sometimes a team we don't expect struggles mightily.

 

[BigGameDamian]

What makes everyone so sure the Blazers will trade Whiteside and not Nurkic. Reports where the Blazers did target Whiteside before they did Nurkic.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

What makes everyone so sure the Blazers will trade Whiteside and not Nurkic. Reports where the Blazers did target Whiteside before they did Nurkic.

Whiteside is older, and an expiring contract.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

What makes everyone so sure the Blazers will trade Whiteside and not Nurkic. Reports where the Blazers did target Whiteside before they did Nurkic.

--Nurkic is younger
--Nurkic costs less
--Nurkic is a better locker room presence
--Nurkic is signed for longer
--Nurkic is more versatile offensively
--Nurkic has better defensive fundamentals

 

[BigGameDamian]

Whiteside is older, and an expiring contract.

So? That doesn't mean they will try and keep Whiteside over Nurk.