The Portland Trail Blazers are going to be one of the most active teams in the NBA this offseason. They have grand plans of rebuilding their roster around star point guard Damian Lillard.
Portland has few sure things beyond Lillard currently on the roster. Josh Hart is likely the only player guaranteed a spot in the rotation that is on the roster, and that is if he isn’t included in any trades.
The team reportedly is going to bring back center Jusuf Nurkic, which will lock down another starting spot. If they retain Anfernee Simons, he could very well start alongside Lillard and at the very least be the team’s sixth man.
One thing missing from that mix is a wing player and power forward. It should be no surprise then that the Trail Blazers are targeting exactly that in trade talks. Portland has the No. 7 overall pick as their best asset and they are ready to use it to acquire an established player.
LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: 2 Trade Packages To Send Detroit Pistons’ Jerami Grant To Portland Trail Blazers
Thus far this offseason, they have been linked most heavily to Jerami Grant of the Detroit Pistons, OG Anunoby of the Toronto Raptors and John Collins of the Atlanta Hawks. A former NBA executive recently spoke to NBA Analysis Network about which of those three would be the best fit in Portland. They believe that Grant remains the best option.
“When you look at players mentioned as trade options for Portland with that 7th pick, I like Jerami Grant the most. With how teams load up on Lillard, they need a big wing that can lower his shoulder and get to the rim. OG Anunoby and John Collins aren’t as talented at attacking off the bounce as Grant.”
The executive makes a good point that Jerami Grant is the most capable, right now, of helping take pressure off of Lillard. But, that is also a role that Simons is more than capable of, as he showed last season after Lillard went down with an injury and CJ McCollum was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans that he is more than capable of carrying the load.
LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: 2 Trade Packages To Send Detroit Pistons’ Jerami Grant To Portland Trail Blazers
The biggest knock against Grant compared to the other two players is age. Grant is already 28 years old, so while he has plenty of great seasons of basketball ahead of him, what you see is likely what you’ll get from him. On the other hand, Anunoby is turning only 25 years old in July and Collins will be 25 in September.
They possess higher ceilings than Jerami Grant does, which could come into play when Portland is negotiating and trying to make a decision. Out of the three, Anunoby has the most star potential as he fits the mold of the two-way, versatile wing that teams are now looking to build rosters around.
LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: 2 Trade Packages To Send Detroit Pistons’ Jerami Grant To Portland Trail Blazers
At the end of the day, no matter which of the three the Portland Trail Blazers settle on, they will be a better team upon acquiring one of them.
