The Portland Trail Blazers are the team everyone in the NBA has their eyes on as Thursday’s NBA Draft approaches, as they hold the No. 3 overall pick but are actively shopping it in an effort to add another current star alongside Damian Lillard.
Part of the problem Portland faces is they cannot make a deal prior to when they are on the clock because their pick is far more valuable if Scoot Henderson is still on the board at three rather than Brandon Miller and the Thompson twins. As such, they have to be very nimble and have a lot of conversations ahead of time to gauge what’s out there based on what Charlotte does at No. 2, so that when they get on the clock they can be making offers that have, at least in part, already been discussed.
The pressure on Portland is trying to keep Lillard happy by building a roster around him capable of jumping back into the playoff conversation, but they also don’t want to sell off an asset as strong as the third pick for pennies on the dollar. On Tuesday, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported one offer Portland is planning on making, as they’ll look to reverse the rumors of Miami trying to land Lillard by trying to poach his friend Bam Adebayo from the Heat.
Portland appears unlikely to part with the No. 3 choice unless the Blazers are netting back one of a select number of premium targets to pair with Lillard. According to one source with knowledge of the situation, Portland is preparing what the team believes to be a compelling package for Miami to part with All-Defensive centerpiece Bam Adebayo.
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Miami brass seems very unlikely to consider any Portland overture that doesn’t include standout rookie Shaedon Sharpe, in addition to a package of the No. 3 pick and Anfernee Simons that the Blazers, sources said, have made available in discussions with other teams.
It’s pretty funny that both the Heat and the Blazers want to pair Lillard with Adebayo, and both think they can make that happen. The problem is, if both believe it can happen, it seems highly unlikely the other budges.
As Fischer notes, the sticking point on whether conversations get serious or not will likely be the inclusion of Shaedon Sharpe in talks, which Portland has apparently been reluctant to do in talks to this point. Even so, with the belief around the league that if the Blazers can’t find the right trade they’ll just make the pick at three, it seems that most of the teams rumored to be in talks with Portland are also the teams that seem most interested in Lillard should he come available. While Miami has designs on a Lillard-Butler-Adebayo trio, the Nets likewise would love to pair Lillard with Mikal Bridges, who Portland would also like to bring in as a secondary star on the wing. This seems to be a constant problem for the Blazers, as the players that seem to fit best with Lillard are on teams that would rather make that partnership happen for themselves.
We’ll find out on Thursday night just how desperate the Blazers get, or if a team like the Pelicans really is that smitten with Henderson to put up the offer Portland wants for that third pick.
