NBA Trade Season is upon is as the trade deadline is a week away and many teams are in the hunt for a boost in talent. The Portland Trail Blazers are one such team. The Blazers currently sit at 6th in the West with a 23-16 record and are half a game back from the Denver Nuggets for the five seed.

This might not seem to be all that impressive, but it becomes more impressive when you realize that CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic have hardly played to this point of the season. CJ started the season red hot before going down with a partial fracture in his left foot which left him sidelined for an extended period of time. However, despite these unfortunate injuries, Damian Lillard has had an MVP caliber season to this point and his herculean efforts have lead the team to this record.

Dame is averaging an incredible 29.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 7.9 APG while putting up advanced stats like a 125.5 Offensive Rating and a 62.9 True Shooting % all on a 32.9 usage rate. Dame is one of the best clutch players in the NBA and this ability has helped the team outplay their Point Differential by a solid margin. A key for the Blazers will be improving this point differential and adding versatility at the trade deadline. So, let's breakdown the needs for the Blazers and two deals Portland should make at this year's trade deadline.

As mentioned above, the Blazers could really use some added versatility defensively. In recent games, the Blazers have occasionally played Nassir Little at 5 and allowed for more switching on defense and space on offense. However, Nassir has limitations as a player so the player the Blazers should be looking for would be players within Little's archetype, but with a more refined skillset.

An athletic forward who can defend multiple positions and shoot. That's a little easier said than done though. The number of teams who would love that archetype are numerous and the amount of players who fit that archetype aren't so abundant. The Blazers did a good job in the offseason getting players like Robert Covington and Derrick Jones Jr to fill parts of that archetype, but one more would be the ideal piece to create a trio that could be ever-present throughout a game and also play minutes together as a versatile 3, 4, and 5 in the frontcourt.

Trade #1:

Cavaliers receive: Rodney Hood, Nassir Little, and a 2025 Lottery Protected First Round Pick

Blazers receive: Larry Nance Jr.

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This a trade that really fills the Blazers needs on defense. Nance Jr has quietly been one of the best defenders in the league this year and he's incredibly versatile. He is an excellent havoc creator, playing passing lanes for steals and forcing turnovers consistently. He can play three positions, both forward spots and a small-ball five. Nance is the perfect fit for the Blazers because he'll immediately be a member of the closing five in any construction.

He would be the closing four next to Jusuf Nurkic or the closing five next to Derrick Jones Jr and Robert Covington. The Blazers also are not going to overboard in giving up assets here and they could include other young players instead of Nassir Little if the Blazers or Cavs would prefer someone else in the deal. Nance makes the Blazers immediately better and his usefulness in the playoffs likely could not be overstated.

 

Trade #2:

Magic receive: Rodney Hood, Zach Collins, Anfernee Simons, and a 2023 Top 4 Protected First Round Pick

Blazers receive: Aaron Gordon and Dwayne Bacon.

Aaron Gordon fits a similar mold to Nance Jr but slightly different in how their defensive value is derived. Larry Nance Jr is a havoc wreaker, an off-ball pest who creates problems for the offense. Gordon is more of an on-ball stopper. He is someone the Blazers could somewhat comfortably put on Kawhi or LeBron in the playoffs and hope he could make a difference on them.

Dwayne Bacon is a good throw-in as an athlete and scorer who could pick up some slack down the end of the regular season. The Blazers would be smart to consider both of these trades because if they can potentially pull them off, it's going to help them immensely when it comes to the playoffs.