Report: Blazers have 3 big-name trade targets
Dec 16, 2019; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Portland Trail Blazers are not messing around as they continue to prioritize veteran help for Damian Lillard.
NBA writer Sean Highkin said this week in his newsletter, The Rose Garden Report, that Portland has three primary targets in a possible trade of their No. 3 overall pick in next month’s draft. Those three targets are Boston’s Jaylen Brown, Toronto’s Pascal Siakam, and Brooklyn’s Mikal Bridges.
Highkin adds that he personally believes “there’s a reasonable chance something gets done involving one of them.”
The Blazers are running out of time to build a playoff contender around Lillard. The seven-time All-Star guard turns 33 in July and can become a free agent after the 2025-26 campaign. There is also the possibility Lillard requests a trade from Portland well before then, especially since the team has now lost 104 games in the last two seasons.
Jerami Grant, last year’s trade acquisition for the Blazers, will now be a free agent this summer, creating a potential need at the forward spot. Brown, Siakam, and Bridges are three players in their 20s who can each score 25 points per game on top of defending at a very high level. Of those options, there is some history for Portland with at least one of them.
