The Portland Trail Blazers will not trade the third overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft to the Toronto Raptors for Pascal Siakam or OG Anunoby, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
“The Blazers have been linked by league personnel to both Raptors forwards Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, but Portland doesn’t truly covet either Toronto player for the No. 3 selection, league sources told Yahoo Sports,” Fischer wrote.
Portland appears unlikely to trade the third pick unless the team is getting back one of a select number of premium targets to pair with point guard Damian Lillard. The Blazers are interested in trading for Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, who has a close relationship with Lillard.
However, Miami likely won’t trade Adebayo even if it gets the third pick in return.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Toronto Raptors & Portland Trail Blazers Updates
The Raptors missed the playoffs this past season and fired head coach Nick Nurse. Nevertheless, they may not blow up the roster this offseason, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet, which means both Siakam and Anunoby may not get traded.
“Breaking things up and selling them off for parts has never been seriously entertained in private conversations I’ve had,” Grange wrote. “Publicly the stance hasn’t been all that different. The Raptors don’t see themselves as all that inferior — if at all — to the Miami Heat, who have made the NBA Finals two of the last four seasons. The ‘lowly’ Knicks made the second round this year, and the Sixers, Bucks — and even the Celtics — have proven themselves beatable in the right circumstances.”
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Toronto Raptors & Portland Trail Blazers Updates
The 2023 draft is on Thursday, June 22. All eyes will be on the Blazers to see what they do with the third pick.
Everyone in league circles knows that Lillard wants Portland to trade the pick for a star. If the Blazers can’t get Adebayo, it will be fascinating to see who they target next.
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