According to numerous reports, the Oklahoma City Thunder have traded reserve point guard Eric Maynor to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Thunder has traded reserve point guard Eric Maynor to Blazers, a source told Y! Sports.
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) February 21, 2013
In return, the Thunder will receive a $2.2 million dollar trade exception and (potentially) some future draft picks.
Through 37 games, Maynor is averaging just 2.8 points and 2.0 assists. He had fallen out of the rotation in favor of Reggie Jackson.
Eric is set to become a restricted free-agent this summer.
UPDATE: The Blazers will also send the draft rights of Giorgio Printezis to the Thunder.
Blazers will send the draft rights of Giorgio Printezis to the Thunder as part of the Eric Maynor deal, source tells Y!
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 21, 2013
GRADE THE TRADE (PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS): A
This deal won’t make the Blazers title contenders or anything, but it will provide some quality depth for rookie point guard Damian Lillard, who’s previous backups were Ronnie Price (2.7 points, 1.9 assists) and Nolan Smith (3.0 points, 1.8 assists).
He’s only 25 years old, so the potential is there (22.7 points as a senior in college) for him to get healthy and become a solid second-unit guard in the NBA.
Considering how awful Portland’s bench is (16.7 points, last in the NBA), Maynor should be able to step in right away and get a steady increase in minutes compared to what he was getting in Oklahoma City.
GRADE THE TRADE (OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER): C +
After coming off of major knee surgery and watching his shooting numbers slowly decline (31.8% from the field), OKC believed it to be the right time to cut ties with Eric.
Walking away with a trade exception is a decent haul for a third-string point guard, but I would have liked to see the Thunder hold on to Maynor a little while longer. He has a lot of upside, and with the proper playing-time, he could very well thrive in Portland.
Chris Walder is the Editor of Sir Charles In Charge. You may follow him on Twitter at @WalderSports
Topics: Eric Maynor, Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers, Portland TrailBlazers, Trade Rumors


