The Portland Trail Blazers, a staple of the Western Conference playoff picture for nearly a decade, are seven games under .500 at the moment. Damian Lillard will be sidelined for weeks and the idea of trading him and commencing a full rebuild is becoming the best option with every loss.
Still, Portland has shown no signs of wanting to start over. Sam Amick of The Athletic listed two stars that the Blazers could trade for in order to help restore order.
Longtime Trail Blazers executive Joe Cronin was elevated to the interim general manager role after Neil Olshey’s firing in early December. With Lillard’s future still uncertain, he needs to upgrade this roster to calm those waters. Sources say Detroit’s Jerami Grant and Boston’s Jaylen Brown are the types of talents that would achieve that goal, but it remains to be seen if Cronin can pull something like that off. Lillard is out for at least six weeks after having abdominal surgery on Jan. 13.
Portland could dangle Anferne Simons, a 22-year-old guard who has thrived in Lillard's absence, to land one of those stars. The organization would have to decide if cashing in on him and going in on this season is worth it.
With Portland's abhorrent defense and poor track record with injuries, it may not actually be worth it. Trading for a stout defender in Myles Turner makes more sense but it would take much more to stop the Blazers from bleeding points. An all-in trade may only pay off in the form of a first-round playoff exit.
Lillard and the Blazers have plenty of work to do if they want to get close to a championship again.
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