The Portland Trail Blazers still have room to tweak the roster, and one more offseason move could fit the kind of low-risk, high-reward approach Joe Cronin has been chasing.
A proposed deal would send Yang Hansen, Vit Krejci and two 2027 second-round picks to the Los Angeles Clippers for Derrick Jones Jr. It’s the kind of swap that reflects where both teams are right now: Portland looking for a useful piece without spending big, and the Clippers trying to rebuild after the NBA forced them to give up several years of draft picks in the wake of its salary cap circumvention investigation.
For the Clippers, the appeal starts with Yang, the 2025 first-round pick who would give them a young center to develop. Their frontcourt picture is thin after trading Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers ahead of the 2026 trade deadline.
Isaiah Jackson, who came back in that deal, and 38-year-old Brook Lopez are the current centers, while rookie Baba Miller and second-year pro Yanic Konan Niederhauser are also in the mix. Niederhauser is coming off a major ligament injury.
Yang’s playmaking feel at the position gives him added value as insurance for that group.
Portland’s side of the equation makes sense too. The Blazers took Yang with the 16th overall pick in the 2026 NBA draft, but the path to minutes is crowded.
Donovan Clingan is entering his third season and could land a long-term extension soon, and Robert Williams III signed a three-year contract this offseason. With Yang’s chances of cracking the rotation this year looking slim, moving him could be the cleaner play.
The second-round picks also matter, even if Portland has three of them in the 2027 draft. The Blazers didn’t have any picks in 2026, so keeping draft assets in circulation has value, but three second-rounders is a lot for any team to actually use.
The biggest draw here is Jones, who would be back in Portland after playing for the team in the 2020-21 season. He started 43 of his 58 games that year and already has experience alongside Damian Lillard.
On a one-year deal worth $10.4 million, he would give the Blazers another defensive-minded frontcourt option behind Toumani Camara, which is an area where the roster still needs help. Vit Krejci is expected to serve as a backup forward, but Jones would be the stronger depth addition.
In Other News...
Blazers Future In Portland Suddenly Feels Far Less Secure
The Trail Blazers long-term footing in Portland got an unmistakable public nudge from the league office this week, with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stressing that keeping the franchise in the city is the goal. Silver framed a possible relocation as a setback for everyone involved and pointed to the importance of landing a workable arena agreement with local and state officials if the team is going to stay on solid ground.
The timing makes the matter even more delicate. Portlands arena funding commitment runs out at the end of the year, and a city council vote is set for December, leaving the franchise facing a crucial stretch as it tries to line up a path forward. For a team that has long been tied to the citys identity, the next few weeks may go a long way toward determining just how secure that future really is. [Read more 🡒]
Donovan Clingan Could Decide How Fast The Blazers Turn This Around
With a new owner, a new coach and a fresh trade addition all arriving in the same stretch, the Trail Blazers are trying to accelerate a rebuild that still feels very much in motion. In that shuffle, Donovan Clingan has quietly become one of the most important pieces on the board. The young center took over as Portlands starting five last season and immediately gave the roster something it sorely needed, showing real muscle on the glass and a growing impact at the defensive end.
Micah Nori is expected to build part of the Blazers identity around that backbone, and Clingans development could end up shaping how quickly the whole thing moves. Portland already knows the size and activity are there, but the next step is turning that into a more consistent two-way anchor. How much Clingan grows from here may say a lot about whether this reset feels like a slow climb or something closer to a quick turnaround. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Arena Plan Still Hinges On One Funding Decision
Multnomah County is still sorting through how to cover its $101.6 million share of the $600 million Moda Center renovation, and commissioners spent part of the week weighing four different paths to get there. The options ranged from no tax increase at all to modest bumps in either the rental car tax or the hotel tax, as county officials continue looking for revenue sources that can make up for property tax revenue tied to the arena deal.
The discussion underscored how much of the Blazers arena future now depends on one funding decision the county has yet to make a final call on. Officials have been wary of leaning too hard on the hotel tax given current occupancy rates, and the county still has not scheduled a vote, leaving the renovation plan in a familiar holding pattern while the money side of the agreement works itself out. [Read more 🡒]