They might have only won a solitary championship, but the Portland Trail Blazers have put plenty of very productive teams out on the court over their history, and a lot of those teams have benefited greatly from the franchise's performance at the trade table. From the acquisitions of the likes of Buck Williams and Kevin Duckworth in the '80s through to moves which helped them to acquire club greats LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard more recently, these are six of the Blazers best trades.
6. 1986. Blazers receive Kevin Duckworth from the San Antonio Spurs for Walter Berry.
A rare one-for-one swap, there's little doubting that this was a big win for the Blazers. There was no doubting that Walter Berry was talented, but he didn't want to play for Portland – a trend which would continue for him on various other teams as he bounced around the league over the course of three years before heading to Europe. Kevin Duckworth, in contrast, became a reliable member during perhaps the Blazers' best ever era, making their way to the Conference Finals in three of his seasons with the team and the NBA Finals in two of those. In his first season in Portland, Duckworth won the league's Most Improved Player Award after jumping from 3.2 points and 2.2 rebounds per game to 15.8 and 7.4, and he would go on to become a 2x All-Star over the next few years too. Duckworth wasn't the star of this team but he was a very handy piece, and the Blazers got him for a player who ultimately did next to nothing in the NBA.
5. 2006. Blazers receive LaMarcus Aldridge and a second-round pick from Chicago Bulls for Viktor Khryapa and Tyrus Thomas.
Trading away the fourth pick is always fraught with danger, but for the Blazers this move paid off in spades. Tyrus Thomas was that pick, but despite the high expectations of him heading into the league he never developed into the player that his high draft selection suggested he would. LaMarcus Aldridge, in contrast, became one of the greatest power forwards in the history of the Trail Blazers. Aldridge went on to play for the Blazers for nine seasons, five of which resulted in playoff appearances. Unfortunately they weren't deep playoff runs, but the blame for that certainly didn't rest on the shoulders of Aldridge. He regularly averaged around 20 points and close to nine rebounds, with his silky jump shot helping lead him to four consecutive All-Star appearances in his last four seasons with the franchise. A risky move this might have been at the time, but it paid dividends for the Blazers.
4. 1982. Blazers receive future first-round pick and Wayne Cooper for Kelvin Ransey.
Neither Wayne Cooper nor Kelvin Ransey had a huge impact on the NBA after this trade, but the future first-round pick Portland acquired in it certainly did. Three years on from the trade, they selected Terry Porter with the 24th pick in the 1985 draft, and what an impact he would go on to have on the franchise. Over close to a decade, Porter played alongside Clyde Drexler as the team's starting point guard, and though the team didn't win a championship during that period it was perhaps the most successful extended era in franchise history. He was a 2x NBA All-Star during his time with the Trail Blazers, and would ultimately have his number 30 jersey retired by the team – and the team got him for next to nothing.
3. 1989. Blazers receive Buck Williams from the New Jersey Nets in exchange for a first-round draft pick and Sam Bowie.
The Blazers hadn't had any issues making it into the postseason for over a decade leading up to this trade, but doing any damage once they were there had not proven quite so easy. This trade moved the needle in that regard in a big way. Sam Bowie, who was famously drafted the pick before Michael Jordan, had not quite lived up to expectations and consistently struggled with injury. Buck Williams, in contrast, was a battle-hardened veteran, and the Blazers knew just what they were getting with him. He went on to play seven solid seasons in Portland, fitting in perfectly with players like Clyde Drexler around him. The returns of the trade were immediate, with three Conference Finals and two NBA Finals in his first three seasons with the team. This was a clear-cut win for the franchise, and though they didn't achieve the ultimate success with him at the five, they certainly got closer than they likely would have without making this trade.
2. 1976. Blazers receive pick 2 in 1976 ABA dispersal draft from Atlanta Hawks for Steve Hawes and Geoff Petrie.
It didn't take long for this to reveal itself as one of the best moves in Blazers' history. With the pick 2 that they received in this trade, Portland drafted Maurice Lucas, who in five years endeared himself to the fanbase and established himself as one of the best power forwards in the history of the franchise. Most importantly, in just his first years he played a pivotal role in their first and to this date only championship. Averaging 20.2 points and 11.9 rebounds in that season, he was a key cog in their 49-win season and a playoff run which ultimately saw them win the NBA Finals in six games against the Philadelphia 76ers. Bill Walton might have been voted the Finals MVP that season, but there is no doubting just how important Lucas was to their success. Without this trade, the Trail Blazers could very easily be without a championship to this day.
1. 2012. Blazers receive future first-round pick with Mehmet Okur and Shawne Williams from New Jersey Nets in exchange for Gerald Wallace.
Say what you want about Mehmet Okur and Shawne Williams, neither of whom played a game for the Blazers, but it was the future first-round pick that made this the best trade the franchise has ever made. Gerald Wallace would play just four more seasons in the league, and not particularly productive ones, while that future first-round pick would go on to be arguably the Blazers' greatest ever player, likely behind only Drexler. With pick 6 in the 2012 draft, they selected a guy named Damian Lillard. Fast forward over a decade, and he has the following on his resume: 7x NBA All-Star, 7x All-NBA First, Second or Third Team, NBA Rookie of the Year, NBA Teammate of the Year. Lillard's impact on the franchise is hard to measure – not only has he been one of the best players in the league for years, but his unwavering commitment to a franchise which hasn't been able to give him the support he deserves is worthy of recognition in a league in which loyalty is increasingly rare. Well into his 30s, he eventually asked to be traded following the 2023 season, but regardless of what happens from here he has had an indelible impact on the franchise.
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