Does this trade make sense for the Portland Trail Blazers?
Portland needs to do something and they need to do it rather quickly. This team is currently 5-7 and while they will probably wind up making the playoffs, they definitely do not have what it takes to make it out of the first-round.
Since making the Western Conference Finals in 2019, the Portland Trail Blazers have lost in the first-round of the playoffs each of the last two seasons and they are just simply missing talent to stack up with the best of the best out West. Lillard and McCollum need another All-Star to learn on for support, which is why Pascal Siakam would be a huge addition for them.
If they could pull off this trade with the Raptors then more power to them, but there is just no way that Toronto would be foolish enough to accept this offer. Nurkic and Covington do not bring much to the table in the Raptors’ system and there is no long-term value going to them in this trade.
For Portland, moving Nurkic is a much bigger possibility than many would think. The Bosnian big man is in the final year of his contract and at 27-years-old, they have to be imagining if he will be getting any better than he currently is.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Raptors-Warriors Trade Is Centered Around Pascal Siakam
Jusuf Nurkic has been really solid for the Blazers through the years and has been labeled as an above-average rebounder on both ends of the court, but durability is a problem for him. He has been seeing less and less minutes each season and playing just 24.7 minutes per game this year, is he really a player the Portland Trail Blazers can count on to be there when they need him in the playoffs?
Seeing what they can get for him in a trade before the trade deadline makes a lot of sense for Portland, which is why we could see Nurkic on the move rather soon. Maybe they will not trade him for an All-Star like Siakam, but this team needs something to happen.
Their roster is not good enough to contend in the Eastern Conference and if the Portland Trail Blazers do not do something soon, then Damian Lillard could be on his way out the door.
Losing Lillard is the last thing this organization can afford to have happen right now, which is why they will be active in looking to add high-level players at the trade deadline this year.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Raptors-Warriors Trade Is Centered Around Pascal Siakam
They can target Pascal Siakam all they want, but they just simply do not have the assets to trade for him. Getting another team or two involved in the trade to land Siakam is a possibility, but Toronto has not shown any willingness to trade him at the moment.
