Making the Case: Portland Trail Blazers
At some point, a franchise has to realize the direction they are going isn’t working and decide to find a new core.
For the Portland Trail Blazers, they appear to have reached that point with Damian Lillard. He will be 32-years-old this summer and right now, they have a bleak supporting cast barring any significant surprise moves that are made this offseason.
Lillard is not the caliber of player to single handily lead a franchise to a deep playoff run in an improving Western Conference. Even if they can land a co-star in a surprising deal this offseason, is there going to be enough depth to get the job done?
The Trail Blazers could benefit from prioritizing the development of Anfernee Simons, who will reach restricted free agency this offseason.
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By making this trade, the Trail Blazers would add talent around Simons using the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft while benefiting from the pick-and-roll presence of Nikola Vucevic in the short term.
