Blazers Predicted to Land $179M Star in Blockbuster Trade Proposal

Matt Levine | 5 Hours Ago

Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Portland Trail Blazers entered this season looking simply for growth and development from their young core. The team wasn't thinking of the playoffs but was hopeful that they would be much more competitive.

Portland has started the year 8-12 through its first 20 games, showing more fight than many believed they would. It has led them to possibly think about moving up the timeline for their rebuild.

In the proposed deal by Michael Seanz of Sir Charles in Charge, the Trail Blazers make a deal with the Denver Nuggets. The deal would have them moving a few pieces to land a star forward.

Here is what the deal would look like:

Trail Blazers receive: Forward Michael Porter Jr.

Nuggets receive: Guard Anfernee Simons, forward Matisse Thybulle, forward Tounami Camara, and a 2028 first-round draft pick

"The Blazers could get a jump-start in their rebuild, which they seemed to have lacked recently, or could elect to trade MPJ down the line. Either way, the Blazers would get good value for Simons and would have much of the same flexibility moving forward. This may not seem like a perfect deal on paper for either side but it could go a long way in solving some of the issues that both teams seem to have at the moment."

There were many rumors over the summer that the Trail Blazers were looking to trade Simons so with this deal, they could get a quality wing player in return for his services. Simons has established himself as a strong scoring guard in the NBA but he may not be part of the long-term plans of the Trail Blazers organization.

Porter Jr. is still under contract for a few more seasons, giving the Trail Blazers a star to work with going forward. Portland could land a scoring wing that could complement their young core very well with this deal.

The veteran wing is averaging 18.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 0.8 steals per game this season. Porter Jr. is also shooting 40.4 percent from beyond the 3-point line this year.

The Trail Blazers have also been rumored to be trading Jerami Grant so Porter Jr. could serve as insurance if they do so. If the team doesn't trade Grant, Portland would then have two strong options along the wing who both shoot well and can defend.

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