Portland Trail Blazers Receive: G D.J. Augustin, F Danuel House Jr.
Houston Rockets Receive: F Derrick Jones Jr.
With Portland not expected to make any big roster changes in terms of trading away either Damian Lillard or C.J. McCollum, they are expected to be “buyers,” meaning that they will be looking to add as many experienced, reliable guys to their roster as possible to potentially make a deep playoff run next season.
Adding a veteran guard in D.J. Augustin not only gives Portland some backcourt depth, but someone who has proven that he can score in numerous ways as well as facilitate with the ball in his hands. Danuel House Jr. is a less experienced player than Augustin, but he has been in the league for five years now and has proven he is a viable three-point threat on the wing, shooting 37.3% from deep over the last three seasons in Houston.
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The Portland Trail Blazers traded for Norman Powell on the wing at the trade deadline this year, but with him having an $11.6M player option for the 2021-22 season, he is expected to opt out of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent. Powell is likely to be paid somewhere in the ballpark of $16M-$20M per year on his next contract, so it is very realistic that Portland could be looking for a new wing in the offseason.
Danuel House Jr. is not the kind of player that will change the Blazers franchise and “push them over the edge” in terms of talent, but he is a reliable three-point shooter that could fit in their system quite well.
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On the other side of things, Derrick Jones Jr. would be the player Portland would send away in this trade with Houston, which should not be much of a problem to the Blazers moving forward. DJJ signed a two-year, $18.9M deal with Portland ahead of the 2020-21 season and has a $9.72M player option for the 2021-22 season, but he likely will opt into this deal since he does not hold much value as a free agent given his minimal role with Portland this year.
Houston is going to be looking for young, athletic talents that they can utilize moving forward and while Jones Jr. is owed $9.72M next year assuming he opts into his option, he is only 24-years-old and someone Houston could give a “trail run” to next season seeing as they would not be tied down to him long-term.
There is value to be had here on both sides of this trade and while no big names are involved, this is a smaller trade that could potentially get done in the offseason to help both teams on their respective missions. But, does this trade truly make sense for both teams to do in the offseason?
