The Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns are two teams with similar records going in opposite directions. Both are expected to lurk near the mid-bottom of the Western Conference standings this season. The Blazers (2-2) are trying to make a step forward, converting youth and promise into actual victories…a goal that’s easier to set than accomplish. The Suns (1-3) are coming off of an abandoned run at the NBA title, looking a little bit like an amusement park fallen into disrepair. They’ll retool
over the next couple seasons and see if the next generation can live up to the promise that Kevin Durant and company couldn’t.
Examining these teams and their prospects, it’s hard to ignore that neither one is quite there yet. Portland has an abundance of young talent but lacks a true star player, a hanger upon which to pin the cloth. The Suns are a mishmash, caught between matured players and prospects, lacking in the latter, particularly.
If these two teams are able to swallow the huge lump in their throat–and a little bit of pride–they might be able to make a deal that changes the fortunes of both.
What if–and hear me out here–the following were on the table:
Suns Get: Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson, Jerami Grant, Robert Williams III, 2029 1st round pick (most favorable of Portland, Boston, and Milwaukee), 2030 1st round pick (Portland’s own, with the right to swap with Milwaukee)
Blazers Get: Devin Booker, Grayson Allen, Rasheer Fleming
The Suns are giving up 28-year-old Booker in this deal, the guy the Blazers really want. Booker is a franchise icon in Phoenix, a threat to win the league’s scoring title every year. He’s averaging 28.5 points per game this season while shooting 51% from the floor. But by the time the Suns get good again, he’ll be 32. His contract will be up at that point anyway. He’s a really shiny candelabra with no table to rest on.
Portland would be losing defense at the shooting guard position. They’d also get thinner with the loss of Grant (who is mostly thrown in for salary purposes). But the extra scoring from Booker and shooting from Allen would counterbalance the defensive insecurity.
Portland’s lineup would then look like: Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, Donovan Clingan with Grayson Allen, Matisse Thybulle, Kris Murray, and Yang Hansen coming off the bench. Booker would need to slide over to point guard until and unless the Blazers got a suitable second unit replacement (or until Damian Lillard returns from injury). The Blazers are still young, still athletic and active, and nobody in that rotation is outside of their timeline except Holiday.
Phoenix, meanwhile, gets to adopt Portland’s nurturing experiment with both Sharpe and Henderson, both of whom are a generation behind Booker. They take on Grant’s salary but they end up saving $6 million this year and more when Williams’ contract comes off the books at the end of the season. Most importantly, they get extra picks in 2029 and 2030. The 2029 will be the best of Portland’s, Milwaukee’s, and Boston’s. If the Blazers don’t succeed, that’s a lottery pick. If Milwaukee trades Giannis Antetokounmpo, that’s probably a high lottery pick. Ditto for 2030, as the pick is swappable with the Bucks. Basically, the Blazers are giving up two major prospects now and almost all the future capital they’ve build up in their recent rebuild to get the kind of star they haven’t yet been able to develop or draft.
This move, though painful for both teams, would align the expectations of each with their rosters. Portland gets an immediate scoring star in his prime. Phoenix gets current savings, younger talent, and future picks.
We don’t discuss prospective trades on site much, but this one was too interesting to pass up. So let us know, Blazers fans, would you consider making this move? Share in the comment section below.
