Why This Trade Makes Sense For The Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers are a team that desperately needs some help around Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Injuries have plagued this team over the years, especially in their frontcourt and this season nothing has changed.
When healthy, Jusef Nurkic is great, but that is the thing… he is rarely fully healthy. He played in just 8 games last year after suffering a gruesome leg injury in 2019 and has played in just 12 games so far this year before breaking his wrist.
Cutting ties with Nurkic and getting Andre Drummond would be a massive upgrade for the Trail Blazers and give them a monster of a frontcourt player, something they have not really had with Dame and McCollum.
The Trail Blazers currently ranks 16th in the NBA in rebounding and are dead-last in points in the paint this season. The addition of Drummond in the frontcourt would definitely make Portland’s all-around offense better, but it would also give them that third reliable option they need.
Carmelo Anthony has stepped up in that role for the Trail Blazers at times, but this late in his career, he is not the “security blanket” he once was and is nothing more than a role player at this point. With the talent the Blazers have on their roster and with the possible addition of Andre Drummond, there is no reason why this team would not be in title contention.
Losing Zach Collins could hurt them moving forward since he possesses a high upside to be a great forward, but he is not going to contribute to their chances of winning this year and his status moving forward is very much unknown.
The departure of Rodney Hood definitely hurts the Blazers shooting depth, but it would give Anfernee Simons more minutes and chances to produce, which he has done quite well with CJ McCollum being out. Giving their young talent more chances to prove themselves could be exactly what this team needs.
Ultimately, getting Andre Drummond would be the best move the Portland Trail Blazers could make at the NBA trade deadline. He has no concerns about him and could give Portland a double-double every night, which is exactly what they need from their center seeing as they have one of the best pure scorers in the NBA in Damian Lillard.
