2 Blazers trade targets in 2024 NBA offseason

The Portland Trail Blazers are facing an offseason of uncertainty after their 21-61 season wrapped in April. While the team’s win-loss record wasn’t necessarily unexpected, Portland now faces a summer where they have four draft picks and not enough roster space. With that, the team is certainly going to look at trades this offseason that will balance the roster while still helping to address their talent gap.

Here are two players that Blazers should look at targeting in the 2024 NBA offseason. While the trades may seem underwhelming on the surface, Portland needs to acquire talent or more draft picks while not taking on additional salary and avoiding the tax apron. These moves are focused on not necessarily the players acquired (though they tend to be young guys with room to grow) but the draft capital that would come along with them.

Anthony Black – Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic are clearly ready to make some moves of their own. After stacking young talent for years, Orlando finally saw some breakthrough success and reached the NBA Playoffs this spring, falling in seven games to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

The Magic need shooting, and the Blazers currently have Orlando-area native Anfernee Simons in the way of Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe developing to their full potential in the backcourt.

The Blazers should look to move Simons to the Magic for Black (the sixth-overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft), Jonathan Isaac, and a 2025 first-round pick. In order to make salaries match, the Blazers may need to include another role player as sweetener, but opening up the majority of backcourt minutes and adding draft capital should be Portland’s top priorities this offseason.

The move for Black assumes that Malcolm Brogdon is on his way out in a trade this offseason as well, which is nearly a given. That would slot Black into the Blazers’ backup point guard role. The rookie played 17 minutes per game for the Magic last season, averaging 4.6 points and 1.3 assists. He also shot 39 percent from the 3-point line.

Patrick Williams – Chicago Bulls

With the Bulls rumored to be looking at upgrades (including Jerami Grant) in an effort to compete in the Eastern Conference, the Blazers should kick the tires on working out a sign-and-trade with Chicago for Williams. There’s a chance the Bulls will want to keep Williams based on his potential, but the pressure is on the front office to get something out of their aging core of Demar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic, and Zack Lavine.

If the Bulls decide not to blow it up and rebuild around Williams and Coby White, the Blazers could look to send Jerami Grant in exchange for Williams in a sign-and-trade. Williams is set for free agency and will likely be able to command somewhere between $25-28 million per year. The Blazers could take on additional salary like Lonzo Ball’s contract (and ask for sweetener such as Julian Phillips) in order to make the finances work.

Williams isn’t the scorer that Grant is, but he’s a 22-year-old power forward who shoots better than 40 percent from the 3-point line in his career. he also showed signs of breaking out last season before being lost for the season in January due to left foot surgery.

While the Blazers don’t have a ton of wiggle-room, they will have some important decisions to make regarding the future of their roster this summer. Adding additional draft picks and younger talent should continue to be the team’s focus.