The Portland Trail Blazers’ offseason has been loud for a lot of reasons, but the guard logjam keeps sitting right at the center of it.
Reacquiring Damian Lillard brought back a familiar issue for Portland: too many guards, not enough clean minutes to go around. Add the buy-low move for Ja Morant from the Memphis Grizzlies, and the backcourt crowd gets even tighter, with three All-Stars at the point plus Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson also in the mix for playing time.
One trade idea floating around would attack that problem head-on. Kenny Nosay of TotalProSports, via Yahoo! Sports, suggested the Blazers could send Jrue Holiday out and bring Andrew Wiggins in, with additional filler to make the numbers work.
Wiggins is still the player who once carried “generational prospect” buzz after one year at Kansas and went first overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2014 draft. He later won Rookie of the Year, has been traded twice, and has settled into a fairly steady profile since landing with Golden State.
What makes him appealing now is the combination of defense and spacing. Wiggins has built a reputation as a defensive-minded wing, and the numbers back that up as well as advanced defensive metrics can. He’s also been filling up the stat sheet with over a steal and a block per game in 30 minutes, which is hard to ignore.
The shot has become a real part of his value too. Wiggins is a career 36% three-point shooter, though that number is dragged down by his early seasons.
In his age-24 season, he took a career-high 6.2 threes per game and made 33% of them. Last season, he hit 41.4% on nearly five attempts a night, and he’s been below 37% just once over his last six seasons.
The contract is where things get interesting. On paper, a Holiday-for-Wiggins deal fits Portland’s roster problem, but Holiday is set to make almost the same amount next season while Wiggins is owed nearly half as much over the next two years. That gap would determine how much extra salary has to be attached to the deal.
It also fits the kind of move Joe Cronin has tended to make since taking over from Neil Olshey: buying low on a player with value and getting him on a team-friendly deal. The one wrinkle now is Tom Dundon’s involvement, which could affect whether Portland can keep the filler on the lighter side in any trade like this.
In Other News...
Blazers Just Watched Another Needed Young Wing Slip Away
The wing market keeps moving, and for Portland that means another young option has come off the board. Peyton Watson has agreed to a four-year, $88 million deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers in a sign-and-trade that also involved the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers, ending his restricted free agency and sending one of the more intriguing two-way wings to the East.
The Blazers had reason to monitor Watson closely because multiple teams had shown interest before the deal was finalized, and his profile fit the kind of athletic, switchable wing that so many contenders chase. Cleveland also added sharpshooting wing Max Strus in the larger arrangement, leaving Portland to keep searching for the type of perimeter help that can grow with its young core. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Offseason Leaves One Big Reason For Fans To Hesitate
The Trail Blazers have spent the offseason making major changes, starting with the hire of Micah Nori as their new head coach and the addition of Ja Morant through a trade that instantly altered the outlook of the roster. There is real intrigue in the way Portland has reshaped itself, especially with new owner Tom Dundon bringing a more conservative financial approach and the front office trying to balance basketball ambition with long-term stability.
Still, the uncertainty around the direction of the franchise has not disappeared. Portland moved on from Tiago Splitter after his success last season, and the decision left open questions about how much continuity the Blazers are willing to sacrifice in pursuit of a new identity. At the same time, the team remains in negotiations over a new arena deal, with Dundon reluctant to pay for renovations, so even after the roster churn there is a larger issue hovering over the rebuild. [Read more 🡒]
Ja Morant Debate Just Put Blazers Fans On Notice
Patrick Beverley stirred up a familiar basketball argument on The Pat Bev Show, siding with Ja Morant over John Stockton and pointing to Morants explosiveness and one-on-one talent. The discussion got even broader when former NBA guards Raymond Felton and Charlie Villanueva joined in, with Villanueva taking the traditionalist route and backing Stocktons old-school point guard resume. It is the kind of debate that never really dies in NBA circles, especially when the players involved represent such different eras and styles.
For Blazers fans, the conversation carries extra weight now that Morant is in Portland, giving the franchise a headline-grabbing talent whose reputation already invites big comparisons. The story also serves as a reminder that every move involving a star guard comes with baggage beyond the box score, because Morants presence will be judged against a Hall of Fame standard from the moment he puts on a Blazers jersey. Whether that standard is fair or not, it is the conversation Portland just inherited. [Read more 🡒]