The Trail Blazers have already made some exciting moves near the NBA’s Thursday trade deadline that will certainly reshape the franchise for years to come. They sent CJ McCollum to the Pelicans in exchange for Josh Hart, a gaggle of nobody players and three draft picks (two 2nd rounders and an oddly protected 1st round pick). The most important asset gained from this trade is cap room. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Portland's plan is to fully reshape roster around Damian Lillard now. Portland created a $21M trade exception today, potentially $60M in salary cap space this summer, multiple draft picks and assets via Pels and Clippers trades. Plan is to pursue high-end talent now, not retreat.
“Reshaping the roster” most likely will not happen in the next two days, so the Blazers will look to use that extra cash to acquire a top level talent to pair with Damaian Lillard. There aren’t many attractive free agents that would realistically pick Portland over other destinations, this summer. But, Sam Ammick with The Athletic pointed out in a tweet that disgruntled star, Ben Simmons, could be an option:
Portland now has a plausible path to room for Ben Simmons this summer, too (as a way to make room for James Harden in Philly). As we reported in December, Damian Lillard is a fan of Simmons...
Many fans have expressed disgust over bringing the 6-foot 10-inch point guard to Rip City from Philly. He can’t shoot and seems to be have an attitude at the moment… But his defensive skillset and ball handling would be an incredible asset allowing Damian Lillard to be primarily a scorer, rathe than a facilitator. Come on, Portland! Give it a chance!
