Blazers Should Trade Deandre Ayton Before It’s Too Late

If the Trail Blazers want to get any sort of value for him, they need to trade him in the offseason.

Feb 10, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) controls the ball as Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton (2) guards in the first quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Portland Trail Blazers acquired Deandre Ayton as part of the Damian Lillard trade before the start of last season. It has not worked out for the Blazers.

Ayton has not been a dominant force at the center spot as they were hoping he'd be. His numbers are worse than they were when he was with the Phoenix Suns.

Ayton hasn't been able to stay healthy, either. Last season, he only played 55 games. Before the All-Star break last week, he hurt himself again and could miss up to a month.

What's worse than the declining numbers and the injuries is the effort that Ayton has been playing with. He looks and acts like he doesn't care when he's on the court.

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The Trail Blazers decided not to make any moves at the trade deadline, including moving Ayton. Quite frankly, he didn't have a lot of trade value at the deadline.

Ayton's contract is a big problem. He is making $34 million this year and makes $35.5 million next season. For the numbers he's putting up, he is not anywhere close to worth that amount of money.

Portland needs to get him out of town while they still can. This offseason, trading Ayton should be the top priority of the organization.

That might be the only time that they're able to collect any sort of value for him. He has an expiring contract, so that could be attractive to another team.

If they wait until the trade deadline next year, they might have to sell him for 20 cents on the dollar. If they got rid of him this offseason, they might at least get 50 cents on the dollar.

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The Blazers still don't have a plan for what they want to do moving forward. They are stuck in the middle, seemingly wanting to make a late run at the playoffs this season.

Yet, the Blazers are 13th in the Western Conference and are five games behind the tenth spot. There is very little hope that they can make up that ground.

So far this season, Ayton is averaging 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.

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