NBA Trade Rumors: The Portland Trail Blazers could be another team that targets Jaylen Brown during the offseason.
The Portland Trail Blazers could be heading into an offseason with some unrealistic expectations. Nonetheless, if the team is going to appease and keep Damian Lillard happy, they’re going to need to make quite an improvement from this past season to next year. And the offseason is where they can make it happen. Naturally, there are three avenues for the Blazers to improve – the NBA Draft, free agency, or via trade.
The expectation is that at least initially, the Blazers will be looking to make a significant addition or two via trade.
And perhaps one player that the Blazers may target that could make some sense on multiple levels is Jaylen Brown. At least that’s what NBA insider Jake Fischer brought up on the Dirt & Sprague Show recently.
"I'll say this, Jaylen Brown is a player that Damian Lillard has had on his list." - @JakeLFischer on a player/team situation to watch this summer.
— Dirt & Sprague (@DirtAndSprague) April 10, 2023
It’s tough to say what awaits both the Blazers and Celtics this offseason but it’s pretty clear that both of these teams could be the center of a chaotic summer. Both their hands could be forced this offseason, with a pair of stars at the center of both situations.
Would acquiring Jaylen Brown make the Portland Trail Blazers matter in the West?
On the surface, acquiring Brown from the Celtics would be a huge win for the Blazers. However, considering what it would likely cost (one of Portland’s key young players and multiple first-round picks), you’d have to wonder whether it’s a move that would be needle-moving enough.
Is a Lillard-Brown duo that much better than a Lillard-McCollum duo? You’d expect that a Lillard-Brown duo would make much more sense from a schematic standpoint. Brown is a much better two-way player than McCollum ever was and he’d be a slight upgrade as a complement next to him on the offensive end of the floor.
Where would a Lillard-Brown duo rank in the West? It’s tough to say but it’s a potential path that the Blazers may end up strongly considering this offseason. Especially if they’re serious about surrounding Lillard with a better supporting cast.
Lillard has already begun to apply pressure on the team’s front office. And it seems that the team is preparing to make an aggressive play this summer. The question is, will it ultimately result in success and, perhaps most importantly, the retention of Lillard?