Trail Blazers News: Portland Could Trade Assets, Vets for Top-5 Draft Pick

An intriguing fit that could behoove both parties.

Nov 3, 2023; Portland, Oregon, USA; The Portland Trail Blazers logo at center court before the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports / Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

The Portland Trail Blazers have a low-key big summer coming up.

As currently constructed, the club is already into the luxury tax. Given that the team finished with a Western Conference-worst 21-61 record this past season, it's perhaps not ideal that the club is fielding such a pricey roster. Portland has 14 players inked to its 15-man standard roster for next year, and currently has four impending draft picks, including a pair of lottery picks in the first round. Clearly, something has to give.

That's why a trade comprising a pair of expensive veterans — who are not on the same timeline as the team's most important yuong talent — plus some draft equity may behoove the Trail Blazers. The team is also said to be open to moving up in this year's draft.

James L. Edwards III of The Athletic cooks up an intriguing hypothetical deal between Portland and the lowly Detroit Pistons, who possess the No. 5 pick this season.

Edwards suggests that Detroit send Portland the fifth selection in exchange for the lower of the Trail Blazers' two lottery picks, No. 14, plus forwards Jerami Grant (who is no stranger to the Pistons) and Matisse Thybulle.

"In this scenario, the rebuilding Blazers would have two top-seven picks in the 2024 draft and also shed roughly $40 million in owed salary next season, giving the 21-win team some financial flexibility," writes Edwards.

The 30-year-old Grant, a solid 3-and-D combo forward, is still owed between $29.7 million and $36.4 million over the final four years of his deal, a contract that really doesn't make sense on a rebuilding team like Portland. Defense-first wing Thybulle, meanwhile, is owed $11 million in 2024-25 and possesses an $11.5 million player option for 2025-26.

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