Portland Trail Blazers Receive: C Myles Turner, F TJ Warren, IND 2022 1st Round Pick (Swap, More Favorable to POR), IND 2023 1st Round Pick (Top-6 Protected)
Indiana Pacers Receive: G CJ McCollum, C Tristan Thompson
Sacramento Kings Receive: G/F Jeremy Lamb, MIA 2022 2nd Round Pick (via IND)
This would certainly be an intriguing offer if proposed by the Indiana Pacers to the Portland Trail Blazers, as Portland would have a lot to think about. Myles Turner is not only one of the best defensive big men in the league, but he is also a key guy who could thrive in pick-and-roll situations with Damian Lillard on the offensive end of the floor.
Alongside him, TJ Warren has proven that he can be a high-level, All-Star-like talent in this league when healthy, but we are basing things off of a small sample size. In the 2020 NBA Bubble, Warren was named the “Bubble MVP” after averaging 34.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists on 60.5% shooting, 55.6% from beyond the arc.
Warren is still recovering from foot surgery stemming from a stress fracture in his left foot, but with Lillard, Powell, Turner, and Warren fully healthy, Portland could suddenly become more of a threat in the Western Conference, especially since they would have secondary talents in Jusef Nurkic, Robert Covington and Larry Nance Jr. At first glance, you may think why would the Pacers do this trade, but they have been interested in CJ McCollum for a long-time now.
Caris LeVert definitely has the ability to play the small forward position on the wing and as a result, they could roll out a lineup of Brogdon, McCollum, LeVert, Sabonis, and Thompson after making this three-team deal, which is definitely a little bit more consistent on the offensive end of the floor than what they have now.
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The Sacramento Kings recently acquired Tristan Thompson, so this deal could not be made until October 7 at the earliest, but they really do not have a need for Thompson. Sacramento recently re-sign Richaun Holmes, signed Alex Len and they guaranteed the contracts of both Damian Jones and Chimezie Metu (partially), so their frontcourt is pretty packed right now.
Indiana has been looking to move Jeremy Lamb and the remaining $10.5M on his contract, so sending him and a second-round pick to Sacramento could be enough for them to replace Myles Turner with Tristan Thompson in their frontcourt, which is not a terrible move at all.
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For all three teams involved, this is a really interesting trade proposal and if Portland really wants to prove to Damian Lillard that they can make the right moves to contend for a title right now, then this could be the risk they have to take. Moving CJ McCollum is definitely risky, but it could wind up paying off big time for the Portland Trail Blazers.
