The Portland Trail Blazers have already made one of the offseason’s biggest swings, landing polarizing star Ja Morant from the Memphis Grizzlies in a move that instantly put them on the league’s wild-card radar. Portland didn’t exactly need another point guard in the mix, but the front office clearly saw a buy-low chance it couldn’t pass up.
That trade has naturally led to more questions about the rest of the roster, especially Jrue Holiday. For now, the Blazers plan to keep the veteran guard in Portland, but that doesn’t mean the door is closed heading into the 2026-27 season. Portland still needs to fill out two more roster spots to get to 15, and GM Joe Cronin should be willing to listen if offers come in for Holiday, even if the team isn’t actively pushing him out the door.
The bigger issue is on the wing. Portland badly needs more forward help, and that problem has only gotten worse with Jerami Grant and Kris Murray now in Memphis. Side note: Kris Murray is such a Memphis Grizzly.
That’s why one mock trade making the rounds, via FanSpo on X, has the Blazers bringing Zion Williamson to the Rose City. It’s the kind of idea that makes sense on paper if you squint hard enough, but the fit comes with all the usual Williamson baggage.
The obvious concern is health. Williamson has played more than 30 games in only three of his six seasons.
Morant comes with his own durability questions too, having logged just 79 games over the past three years. Pairing those two would be a gamble in every sense.
Still, Williamson does match the same basic “distressed asset” profile as Morant. His trade value doesn’t come close to matching his talent, and that’s the kind of bet new Blazers owner Tom Dundon seems willing to make. Dundon just won an NHL championship with the Carolina Hurricanes, and he’s already leaning into that same style of roster building in Portland.
Even so, this one asks too much of the Blazers.
The reason Portland was comfortable taking on Morant is simple: it landed a two-time All-Star without giving up any picks. Jerami Grant was already viewed as a negative asset around the league, and Portland turned him into another negative asset in Morant, but one with far more upside for a team chasing star power.
That’s not what’s happening in this Zion proposal. Holiday has drawn trade interest around the league after a strong first season with the Blazers, so Portland would not only have to send out draft capital, it would also be giving up a player who currently has positive value. There’s real opportunity cost here, too, because Holiday could still be flipped later for more future assets.
Yes, the Blazers would be adding another big-name talent and a former No. 1 overall pick entering what should be his prime. But the question is what that prime actually looks like after an injury-plagued, uneven career. Once Portland has to part with real value, the health concerns and fit issues become much harder to brush aside.
This is a pass.
In Other News...
Jrue Holiday Just Showed Why Blazers Fans Needed His Voice
When Portland brought in Jrue Holiday after Boston had to trim its roster, the move was easy to read as more than a simple veteran addition. Holiday has long carried the reputation of a steadying presence, and for a Blazers team trying to build something sturdier around its younger pieces, that kind of voice can matter as much as any box score line.
Micah Nori recently shared just how forceful Holidays confidence can be, and it is the sort of edge that travels well into a locker room. Portland does not just need production from Holiday, it needs the calm, demanding leadership that can help shape the next phase of the roster, whether that means guiding a star in the making or setting the standard for the young core around him. [Read more 🡒]
Moda Center Fight Just Sparked Serious Political Blowback
The political fallout around the Moda Center renovation has spilled well beyond the arena itself, with two powerful labor groups breaking from Portland City Councilor Mitch Green as the city weighs a pair of expensive public works projects. Green has been one of the more skeptical voices on the arena overhaul and the Bull Run water filtration plant, arguing that big-ticket decisions should still be judged by whether they serve Portlanders broadly, not just the interests of the groups pushing them.
For the Trail Blazers, the arena debate is now tied to a larger fight over who pays, who benefits and how much public money should be on the table. The renovation has already drawn scrutiny over costs and funding sources, while the water project has faced its own delays and criticism, leaving Green in the middle of two projects that have become as much about city politics as construction. [Read more 🡒]