Some NBA fans have called the Portland Trail Blazers the Indiana Pacers of the West. By that logic, the Pacers are the Blazers of the East. 

There’s some logic in the comparison. These are both small market teams with fiercely loyal fanbases. The similarities don’t end there, either. 

They’re also both organizations that typically refuse to tank.

Each of these teams prefers to field the most competitive group they can every year, even if it comes at the expense of their long-term outlook. 

There’s some respectability in that approach. It also has its downfalls. This season, each of these teams is in the league’s dreaded lower middle class. 

Could they make a major trade together this summer?