Why this trade makes sense for the Portland Trail Blazers
When you look at the Portland Trail Blazers’ roster, it is very clear to see that they have the ability to contend in the Western Conference, but they are missing something. Aaron Gordon could be that “something” for them because of his versatility on the offensive end of the court and his ability to aid them in rebounding.
Having Nurkic out for the last several weeks has definitely hurt Portland’s rebuilding numbers, as they currently sit 17th in the league in rebounds per game, but even with him back, they still need to find production from the power-forward position.
Both Robert Covington and Carmelo Anthony have been great for the Blazers in their roles, but they are not guys who can play in the low-post/paint, as they tend to live on the perimeter and in the mid-range. Aaron Gordon can not only play on the perimeter, but his size and stature allows him to post-up smaller defenders and score from the low-post.
With Zach Collins out, the Blazers have really missed this type of production next to their center, which is why trade for Aaron Gordon makes a ton of sense. He can not only be this low-post and perimeter threat from the power-forward position, but he could also join Portland at a fairly reasonable price.
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Trading away Zach Collins would not hurt the Blazers’ chances of competing for a championship this year, since he is expected to miss the entire season, and Rodney Hood has been struggling as of late off-the-bench. He is shooting under 30% from three-point range and has seemed to be jumped by Anfernee Simons in the second-rotation, so losing him should not really hurt the Blazers either other than depth on the wing.
With both Jusuf Nurkic and C.J. McCollum close to being back, Damian Lillard playing at an MVP-level and plenty of secondary talents surrounding them in Carmelo Anthony, Robert Covington, Derrick Jones Jr. and Gary Trent Jr, the Portland Trail Blazers have what it takes to contend in the Western Conference, which is why adding Aaron Gordon to the mix could be the final piece to their potential championship puzzle.
