The Portland Trail Blazers haven't exactly found their transition into a post-Damian Lillard world to be as smooth as they would have wanted. Scoot Henderson has gone through woes one would expect from a 20-year old rookie point guard, while the team's veterans whom many thought would keep the team a bit nearer to the league's middle ground have shuttled in and out of the lineup due to injury problems.
As a result, the Blazers have only won 15 out of their 52 games thus far this season — and at this point, there's no reason for them to try harder to get wins other than to create a healthy habit for a franchise that doesn't tend to stay down for long. The team certainly has a few pieces that could help engineer a quick turnaround in a year or two, but their inactive trade deadline (they made a grand total of one trade, taking in Dalano Banton's contract) did not do much to help prepare them for their future.
Make no mistake about it, there wasn't a move that the Blazers should have done at the trade deadline. It's not like they were being held at gunpoint and required to sell off some of their veteran pieces, as they already have plenty of draft assets at their disposal anyway. But holding on to this one player in particular could prove costly, as sound as the rationale might have been to keep him in the Pacific Northwest was.
Here is the Blazers' biggest mistake at the 2024 NBA trade deadline.
Blazers' biggest mistake: Refusing to trade Malcolm Brogdon
The Blazers have made their love for Malcolm Brogdon clear from the moment he came into the team as one of the centerpieces of their Jrue Holiday trade with the Boston Celtics. Brogdon is a smart player, and there are few other point guards that would act as a better mentor to Scoot Henderson than the 31-year old floor general.
And for what it's worth, Brogdon has been reciprocating the Blazers' appreciation for him. The veteran point guard has expressed his love for the franchise multiple times, he's stated that he loves playing for a team that wants having him around, and he has been playing well for a Portland team that's been looking more competitive in recent weeks.
There is certainly a ton of value in having players of Malcolm Brogdon's ilk on a rebuilding team. Brogdon knows how to win as he has been part of a few championship contenders, and most importantly, a healthy relationship between franchise, coaching staff, and player almost always facilitates excellent output on the hardwood.
But Brogdon has always been prone to injuries. Last season with the Celtics was when he played the most games in a single season (67 in the regular season, 19 in the playoffs). He played in 81 combined games during his rookie campaign. But he has not crossed the 64-game mark in the regular season in all of the other seasons of his career, and in his first season with the Blazers, it looks unlikely that he'll cross that mark since he is currently out for at least the next two weeks.
Did the Blazers get any interest for Malcolm Brogdon prior to the February 8 trade deadline? They did, reportedly from the Philadelphia 76ers, although their level of interest and whether talks got serious remain unclear. But not trading away Brogdon during a time where he looked like he had some value to a team looking to remain afloat in the playoff race may prove to be a fatal mistake.
For one, Brogdon's injury history may end up showing that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to his latest knock, an elbow injury. As one would recall, Brogdon's Celtics stint ended in disaster because he injured a tendon in his elbow. This problem proved to be serious enough that a trade that would have sent the veteran point guard to the Los Angeles Clippers was nixed due to his questionable physical.
At this point, it's looking like the pain in Malcolm Brogdon's elbow is becoming chronic. If that is the case, then it becomes a matter of pain management for the veteran point guard. But those are hypotheticals at the moment. What may end up happening, however, is that the Blazers get stuck with Brogdon until his contract ends next season, and by then, they could lose him for nothing in free agency.
Again, keeping Brogdon is not an egregious mistake from the Blazers in the vein of drafting Sam Bowie and Greg Oden over Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant, respectively. But it sure does introduce a lot of uncertain variables for Portland as they continue to navigate the tricky waters of rebuilding.
Follow Us
Subscribe