Does this trade make sense for the Portland Trail Blazers?
In terms of making sense, this trade is really 50-50 on whether or not it truly helps the Portland Trail Blazers simply because of the fact that the pros and cons of this trade equal out.
While Portland would be getting better offensively and would likely improve their 2022-23 season outlook with the addition of Gordon Hayward, they would not benefit in terms of cap space and giving up a key, younger secondary talent in Josh Hart.
Gordon Hayward is owed $61.5 million through the 2023-24 season, tying Portland down big-time financially if they were to give Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkic big contract extensions as well.
Financially, this may be a risk the Trail Blazers have to take, especially if they want to try and rebuild as fast as possible.
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Assuming Lillard and Simons are their only “stars” next season, Portland will be picked by many to finish in the bottom five of the conference. They simply lack the overall talent to make the playoffs with what they currently have, which is why Gordon Hayward could prove to be a big addition to this franchise.
After all, he is only under contract for two more seasons and Portland could possibly flip him for something or someone else in the future.
