Jimmy Butler. DeAaron Fox. Luka Doncic. Anthony Davis. Brandon Ingram.
It has been a busy and star-studded week as we race toward the noon Pacific time trade deadline on Thursday. But while plenty of other teams are making moves, taking swings, and setting themselves up for the future the Trail Blazers have yet to get in on the transaction game.
Portland is in the middle of their best stretch of basketball in years. The Blazers have won nine of their last ten games and are playing their best basketball over the past two and a half weeks. Their recent success might actually reinforce the front office’s patience in letting this core develop. And judging by what they have (and notable have not!) done over the past year, it would be foolish to anticipate any major moves before the deadline. Shoot any moves would be a bit of surprise.
That’s probably a misstep. The Blazers should approach this deadline with the same mindset they would have had a few weeks ago when they were struggling. While it’s tempting to stand pat when things are going well, they need to keep their long-term goals in mind. The roster will inevitably need to change as they build towards contention, and waiting too long can decrease the value of their tradable assets.
Mistaking good fortune for proof of concept doomed a previous iteration of the Blazers. It would be a shame to see history repeat itself.
