Reporting: Increasing Talk Portland could trade #7 to OKC Lou Dort and #12

[Sinobas]

OG would be a nice addition as a legit SF. Don't understand the Dort rumors at all. Must be intentional mis-info.

[JasonStern]

* #7+TPEs for Dort and Grant
* Taking someone at #36
* Not picking up Bledsoe's option and stretching the guaranteed portion
* Re-signing Simons and Nurkić
* Signing one decent player with the MLE
* Filling out the rest of the roster with minimum contracts

Not a very sexy retool/off-season. But I have no faith in Cronin as a GM and imagine he can (and might) do worse.

Don't like it, both guys have one yr left on current contracts and will want to be paid and we give up the 7 pick and our TPE for that? Rather have Collins or OG who have reasonable contracts for more years Iam gettin to the point that Id just rather keep the pick and F all this other stuff, unless someone makes us a really good offer. I think there may be several teams who might want the 7 pick - lets make the sweat and pay up for it!

I'm a big John Collins fan. Go back to the 2017 NBA Draft when I was so excited we drafted him only to find out we drafted Zack/Zach(?) Collins. Had to Google him to find out he was a bench player from Gonzaga. Yippie.

OG obviously would be a better move. Same with Ayton. But I don't have confidence in Cronin. Not sure what he has done to earn your trust with respect to trades and free agents.

Keeping #7 makes sense if the Blazers deal Dame. But that seems unlikely. And that compounds with moves like the Trent for Powell move that set a rebuild back significantly.

[Blazers98]

Dort is 6'4 but has a 6'8 wingspan so I think he can hang defensively. Love his defense and energy. Shooting is something that will come with more practice. That said, if we are going to trade down for him, we are not going to be anything more than a first round and out team. Bad idea if we trade down in any kind of trade for him IMO. If we don't get OG, Collins, or similar quality player with the #7, then I think we role the dice with Sharpe.

[wjun15]

If we trade down to Dort and 12 for 7th, Id be down IF we can get OG with that 12 and maybe a josh hart.

We need our best players to be our starters not a josh hart 6th man.

Lillard/Dunn
Simons/Dort
Little/Kyle Anderson
OG/Kyle Anderson
Nurk/Eubanks

[Dame Lizard]

I agree with the take that Portland are a team which is an easy target for journalists to make rumours for given our situation.

If the rumour was true though, I take some solace in the fact that it was #12 + a package including Dort (i.e. plus extras).

[Norm2953]

Just draft the BPA at 7.

If Portland stands pat, Portland will be looking at Mathurin, Sharpe and Daniels. I'm guessing Indiana
will take Mathurin at six for he's a better shooter than Daniels. Daniels would be a good player for
Portland, giving Portland some length and ball handling skills and might be a good fit with Little
up front. Sharpe likely has the higher ceiling over Daniels and will be great long term fit next to
Simons after Portland begins their rebuild.

[JRoy]

I can understand Sharpe even if I’m ambivalent about his prospects.

Murray would be solid, Daniels if we move AS to sg and commit to the rebuild. I like some guys lower but doubt they’re in play at 7 (Terry, Eason).

[Goldbum]

For what it's worth I'm hearing it's Dort + 12 + Dal 1st + 34 and a future second. Rumor is Griffen has climbed our draft board.

[BlazersBroncos]

For what it's worth I'm hearing it's Dort + 12 + Dal 1st + 34 and a future second. Rumor is Griffen has climbed our draft board.

You must mean the DEN 23 FRP.

I dont think it would be easy to turn down that haul.

7 for Dort, 12, 34, DEN23 FRP, Future SRP

Thats a hell of a lot. There is a really good chance you snag 2 quality guys at 34 and 36.

[Goldbum]

For what it's worth I'm hearing it's Dort + 12 + Dal 1st + 34 and a future second. Rumor is Griffen has climbed our draft board.

You must mean the DEN 23 FRP.

I dont think it would be easy to turn down that haul.

7 for Dort, 12, 34, DEN23 FRP, Future SRP

Thats a hell of a lot. There is a really good chance you snag 2 quality guys at 34 and 36.

Yep...lol I've typed DAL so much I gotta awful auto correct... but yeah that's what my source is saying. He thinks it's option 3 or 4 on what we have going. I couldn't get other details but since he works in the NBA and nailed the NOP trade I thought I would share.... ironically I probably won't be hearing much as we are moving to ATL and he works for the "local franchise" here and gives me info when we hoop together...

[DusterBuster]

For what it's worth I'm hearing it's Dort + 12 + Dal 1st + 34 and a future second. Rumor is Griffen has climbed our draft board.

Ugh. I know some people like that deal… I’m not one of them.

[PDXKnight]

For what it's worth I'm hearing it's Dort + 12 + Dal 1st + 34 and a future second. Rumor is Griffen has climbed our draft board.

You must mean the DEN 23 FRP.

I dont think it would be easy to turn down that haul.

7 for Dort, 12, 34, DEN23 FRP, Future SRP

Thats a hell of a lot. There is a really good chance you snag 2 quality guys at 34 and 36.

A future first does make this deal a lot more feasible in my eyes. Dort doesn't move the needle for me alone. The pick is lotto protected and likely will fall around 20 so it isn't horrible but I think I'd rather just draft at 7. 2 second rounders is a shot in the dark but I dont think we can count on those picks to bring us starters and if we want picks so bad we can just deal cash or future seconds to acquire current ones

What makes or breaks the deal for me is what we do with Dort after this trade. I think he needs to be swapped in a 3 way trade perhaps for another first or a deal for a front court player or wing. Perhaps we are missing a bit here and this is a 3 way with Toronto with og coming back? A john collins deal? Feels like something else has to be happening behind the scenes.

[HoopsFanAZ]

Thank you, Goldbum, for passing along what you’re hearing!

1. Top 3 toughest of his defenders includes Dort … according to Lillard.
2. Josh Hart is a guard. So is Dort. There’s about 30 guard minutes after Dame and Simons (SG/PG).
3. A nice combination of Dort or Hart in a trade package. #12. The DEN pick. The MIL ‘25 pick. [ATL, DET][not everything listed, obviously.]
4. Package 34 and 36 for a 1st rounder.

5. OG still first preference IMHO.

[Jsun947]

Thank you, Goldbum, for passing along what you’re hearing!

1. Top 3 toughest of his defenders includes Dort … according to Lillard.
2. Josh Hart is a guard. So is Dort. There’s about 30 guard minutes after Dame and Simons (SG/PG).
3. A nice combination of Dort or Hart in a trade package. #12. The DEN pick. The MIL ‘25 pick. [ATL, DET][not everything listed, obviously.]
4. Package 34 and 36 for a 1st rounder.

5. OG still first preference IMHO.

This screams Portland doing what they always have and hedging their bet instead of committing to a specific direction. If this happens I’d bet they trade the future Mil & Den 1st along with Johnson or something for Grant and draft BPA at #12

The guard rotation would be Dame, Simons, Dort & Forward rotation Hart, Grant, Little.

What they should do is blow the whole thing up by trading Lillard or trading anything and everything if you think you can surround him with the right talent.

I suppose it’s worth considering that if we can’t get OG or Collins based on the assets we have than maybe that plan does put the best team possible on the floor, and if that’s the case it’s probably a sign we should simply move on from Dame.

[BlazersBroncos]

Thank you, Goldbum, for passing along what you’re hearing!

1. Top 3 toughest of his defenders includes Dort … according to Lillard.
2. Josh Hart is a guard. So is Dort. There’s about 30 guard minutes after Dame and Simons (SG/PG).
3. A nice combination of Dort or Hart in a trade package. #12. The DEN pick. The MIL ‘25 pick. [ATL, DET][not everything listed, obviously.]
4. Package 34 and 36 for a 1st rounder.

5. OG still first preference IMHO.

This screams Portland doing what they always have and hedging their bet instead of committing to a specific direction. If this happens I’d bet they trade the future Mil & Den 1st along with Johnson or something for Grant and draft BPA at #12

The guard rotation would be Dame, Simons, Dort & Forward rotation Hart, Grant, Little.

What they should do is blow the whole thing up by trading Lillard or trading anything and everything if you think you can surround him with the right talent.

I suppose it’s worth considering that if we can’t get OG or Collins based on the assets we have than maybe that plan does put the best team possible on the floor, and if that’s the case it’s probably a sign we should simply move on from Dame.

Who trades for Dame tho? I cant see Boston moving Brown after making the Finals + age difference. I cant see SAC being stupid enough to burn Fox and 4 for a core of Dame and Sabonis, which is a 8/play-in duo for sure.

I would love NYK to freak out and move Barrett, (One of Grimes, Quick, Obi), 11 and a pick package but I dont think they are likely to put RJ on the table, and I dont take a NYK deal w/ Obi as the best youngster coming back.

[HoopsFanAZ]

1. Cronin doesn’t trade Lillard before (A) putting his own stamp on the team and (B) Lillard showing he is fully healthy … value and actually building around him. IMHO, moving Lillard by the trade deadline is more unlikely than the roster becoming a contender in less than a couple years.

2. Brown + Theis + Pritchard + a 1st rd pick (or 2) gets in the ballpark of Lillard’s worth … somewhere near … and addresses needs on both teams. Boston gets their Top 10 Alpha and Portland gets their 2-way SG/SF in a quick rebuild. Again, it’s unlikely, but a healthy Lillard with Tatum, Smart, et.al. is in the finals.

3. Dort + 12 (Duren or Sochan) + a 1st rd pick improves the D in a serious way for years — the benefits start right away. I wouldn’t hate that kind of commitment to D. If this is option C or D, okay.

[zzaj]

Dort does nothing for me.
The combo of a healthy Lillard/Hart backcourt DOES do something for me.

It’s an unpopular stance but IMHO Simons is best suited as a 6th man, same as CJ always was.

Blazers need that next level SF/PF piece. They aren’t ever going to achieve in the Lillard era without it. Sadly, there just aren’t enough of those to be had.

[Dame Lizard]

Dort does nothing for me.
The combo of a healthy Lillard/Hart backcourt DOES do something for me.

It’s an unpopular stance but IMHO Simons is best suited as a 6th man, same as CJ always was.

Blazers need that next level SF/PF piece. They aren’t ever going to achieve in the Lillard era without it. Sadly, there just aren’t enough of those to be had.

With our current team, Simons is best suited as a 6th man.

However, there is hope that he'll develop into a starting PG, which is where his highest potential exists (as he won't be undersized and defense at the PG position is arguably the least critical of all positions). Particularly if paired with a player like Dyson Daniels.

He went from showing very very little point guards skills to averaging 5.5 assists on a slightly higher than 2 Assist:Turnover ratio in a single season. We also were winning some games with him (despite having a really really poor roster playing).

[zzaj]

Dort does nothing for me.
The combo of a healthy Lillard/Hart backcourt DOES do something for me.

It’s an unpopular stance but IMHO Simons is best suited as a 6th man, same as CJ always was.

Blazers need that next level SF/PF piece. They aren’t ever going to achieve in the Lillard era without it. Sadly, there just aren’t enough of those to be had.

With our current team, Simons is best suited as a 6th man.

However, there is hope that he'll develop into a starting PG, which is where his highest potential exists (as he won't be undersized and defense at the PG position is arguably the least critical of all positions). Particularly if paired with a player like Dyson Daniels.

He went from showing very very little point guards skills to averaging 5.5 assists on a slightly higher than 2 Assist:Turnover ratio in a single season. We also were winning some games with him (despite having a really really poor roster playing).

Yeah, I’m just not seeing that with Simons…

Quick…how many players switched positions and turned into PGs once they hit the NBA? I’m probably too old-school in my thinking in this “positionless” era, but I still feel like PG, or being the primary handler and running an offense is filled with intangibles and a mindset that come from having played that position for years.

That isn’t to say that Simons can’t pass the ball. CJs biggest buggaboo was that he got hooplock too often when playing SG. A scoring Guard that can pass the ball well is a dangerous thing, obviously. That’s Simons’ natural position and he should continue to be groomed for that, IMHO…

[Dame Lizard]

Dort does nothing for me.
The combo of a healthy Lillard/Hart backcourt DOES do something for me.

It’s an unpopular stance but IMHO Simons is best suited as a 6th man, same as CJ always was.

Blazers need that next level SF/PF piece. They aren’t ever going to achieve in the Lillard era without it. Sadly, there just aren’t enough of those to be had.

With our current team, Simons is best suited as a 6th man.

However, there is hope that he'll develop into a starting PG, which is where his highest potential exists (as he won't be undersized and defense at the PG position is arguably the least critical of all positions). Particularly if paired with a player like Dyson Daniels.

He went from showing very very little point guards skills to averaging 5.5 assists on a slightly higher than 2 Assist:Turnover ratio in a single season. We also were winning some games with him (despite having a really really poor roster playing).

Yeah, I’m just not seeing that with Simons…

Quick…how many players switched positions and turned into PGs once they hit the NBA? I’m probably too old-school in my thinking in this “positionless” era, but I still feel like PG, or being the primary handler and running an offense is filled with intangibles and a mindset that come from having played that position for years.

That isn’t to say that Simons can’t pass the ball. CJs biggest buggaboo was that he got hooplock too often when playing SG. A scoring Guard that can pass the ball well is a dangerous thing, obviously. That’s Simons’ natural position and he should continue to be groomed for that, IMHO…

Simons' 5.5 assists per game as a starter (and he probably played SG for a few of those games) isn't that off similarly aged Lillard. And that was from Simons with a terrible supporting cast.

The key point being that last year he showed absolutely no resemblance of a PG - so the improvement was night and day.

He'll never be Chris Paul, but there's a chance he could play similar to Dame. Emphasis on chance.