Between all the rumors surrounding Damian Lillard this past offseason and the scrutiny the Portland Trail Blazers received, the one thing the Blazers needed to do to begin the 2021-22 NBA season was to get off to a fast start and they failed to do so.
Portland has begun the year 10-10, which is not terrible, but the last thing this team needs to be is “average” right now. Looking like the same team from a season ago, it is hard to believe that there is anything different about this Trail Blazers team that would make them a legit contender in the Western Conference.
Damian Lillard is only shooting 30.3% from three-point range, a career-low for him, Robert Covington has been inconsistent to begin the season and there are definitely some durability concerns with Jusuf Nurkic.
Nothing about this Trail Blazers team really seems like a threat right now, which is why Portland does not look like a team that would make it out of the first round of the playoffs at this point.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: This Raptors-Blazers Trade Sends Pascal Siakam To Portland
Lillard, McCollum, Powell, Covington, and Nurkic are all great talents and there are many other impactful players on this roster, but this roster needs a big-time change to it.
Adding a third All-Star-caliber talent next to Dame and CJ would be ideal for this front-office, but their options are very limited at this point since they do not have valuable trade assets and since their cap situation is not ideal whatsoever.
Trading for Norman Powell at the NBA trade deadline last year was said to be a big move for the Trail Blazers, yet they did not advance past the first round of the playoffs, losing to Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.
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Portland needs to make another big move at the trade deadline, which is why they may have to be willing to sacrifice part of their core group.
Do the Blazers have the ability to make some big trades ahead of this season’s trade deadline? Let’s take a look at three players Portland could target, as proposed by Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley, and evaluate whether or not the Trail Blazers should “pass or pursue” said trade targets.
