Does this trade make sense for the Portland Trail Blazers?

Portland is prepared to make various players available at the trade deadline this season and Robert Covington is one of them. Who knows how many suitors the veteran forward will have, but the Trail Blazers should be receptive to any kind of value they can salvage this season. 

Given how well Covington has played the last month or so with guys being in and out of the rotation for the Blazers, his value could definitely be higher than it was at the beginning of the season, leading to many more teams than the Celtics being interested in his services for the rest of the year. 

Should this be the case, maybe this is not the best trade scenario for the Trail Blazers, but there is value to be had in this deal with the Celtics. 

Not only would Portland get their 2023 second-round pick back in this trade, but they would add a young forward in Grant Williams and they would also get some much needed payroll relief. 

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Portland is currently $3M over the tax line this season and they would like to move below this threshold as soon as possible to avoid paying taxes on a non-playoff team. By making this trade and taking on Hernangomez’s contract, the Trail Blazers would move $1.1M under the tax line this season, opening things up for them to save money in the long-run. 

Maybe they do not get a ton of value in this trade, but they definitely get some much-needed relief from trading Robert Covington to the Boston Celtics.