The Portland Trail Blazers traded three of their five starters from last season's training camp roster. It is only Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic who are left from the nucleus of this batch of Portland, but this new roster has the potential to surprise many NBA fans this season. Lillard was able to recuperate and get back to 100%, while they added two integral pieces in Jerami Grant and Gary Payton II.
Grant and Payton II will have significant roles entering their 2022-23 campaign as coach Chauncey Billups expects them to contribute from the onset. Rookie Shaedon Sharpe missed college ball last season, but he is arguably a dark horse to be the best player from this draft class. Even with these key additions, it still starts and ends with Lillard and if he is still able to perform at an MVP caliber.
With the intrigue and excitement for Portland, these are two plausible trade ideas they can entertain as the season starts in a week.
Josh Hart
After being in the center of the CJ McCollum trade last season, Josh Hart had a major impact on the latter part of the season for Portland. Hart is a do-it-all player who will do every role expected of him, as he is more of a Swiss Army knife kind of player. With the acquisition of both Grant and Payton II, it may be redundant for Billups to have three players with a similar style of play.
The Blazers can work out some deals involving Josh Hart to acquire a terrific shooter or pure scorer that can score up to 20 points a night. Having Anfernee Simons and Lillard as the primary scores is incredible, but they will need another individual who can get a bucket through his shot creation. Hart is a scrappy individual who will have a lasting career in the NBA, so Portland could easily find a new home for him.
There are some franchises like the Minnesota Timberwolves or Dallas Mavericks who will welcome an individual like Hart, and Portland can acquire one of their scorers to match the needs of both organizations.
Justise Winslow
One of the most intriguing prospects when he was with the Miami Heat, injuries have unfortunately been an enormous hurdle in Justise Winslow's development in the NBA. In this era, coaches dread forwards who can handle it like point guards, but Winslow has been having trouble being a threat on offense. Even if he switched teams to the Trail Blazers, his numbers have still been similar to his previous stints.
Justise Winslow is on an expiring contract, and there seems to be no incentive for Portland to give him another contract in next year's offseason. Furthermore, Winslow will be the third or fourth wing off the bench for the Trail Blazers, so he will not receive consistent minutes if everyone is healthy for Portland. It seems difficult to suggest certain trade destinations for Winslow, but there could be numerous teams who could utilize Winslow as a ninth or 10th man for a playoff-contending franchise.
The ceiling and floor of the Portland Trail Blazers can go as far as scaring a top seed in the first round to even missing the play-in tournament as a whole. The probability for Portland to upset a heavily favored team in a knockout match is due to the Hall of Fame talent of Damian Lillard. As Chauncey Billups enters his second season, a few in-season trades could even be the answer in catapulting them to a better position this season.
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