How This Trade Impacts Portland Trail Blazers
Trading away the face of the franchise and centerpiece is never an easy thing to do. But, with the Portland Trail Blazers struggling to get over the hump in the playoffs consistently, a trade of Damian Lillard could be ultimately best for the franchise moving forward.
Keeping Lillard and trading CJ McCollum would be what Portland would prefer to do if they had to make a trade. Alas, as a borderline All-Star, McCollum wouldn’t land a package like this.
Jamal Murray has some upside as a 24-year old. If he shows that he is healthy, he is an excellent acquisition as the centerpiece to a deal for Lillard. But, the ACL injury does make him a less than ideal trade target since you never know what can happen during the rehab.
Portland is also receiving two intriguing prospects in Zeke Nnaji and Nay’Shon ‘Bones’ Hyland. Nnaji had a small role as a rookie but showed some solid offensive chops. He was efficient in his limited opportunities, showing some floor spacing ability from the power forward spot.
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Hyland was the No. 26 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. He was one of the more highly regarded shooters in this year’s draft class after a productive career at VCU. He has great two-way potential standing 6’3” with a wingspan greater than 6’9”.
Nnaji and Hyland would give Portland two more building blocks for their roster, but this deal, overall, seems to fall a little flat. Murray brings many similarities to the table as Lillard, just not at as high of a level. Getting only one future draft pick seems like a little short-changed as well.
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Unless Portland believes Murray has legitimate star potential, this isn’t likely a deal they would accept, especially since he is currently injured. If Portland takes a shot on a young player, someone such as Jaylen Brown or Brandon Ingram are better targets to help balance out the roster.
