NBA Power Rankings: New York Knicks the favorites after bold trade deadline moves?

26. Portland Trail Blazers

In what should come as a surprise to no one, the Portland Trail Blazers weren't as active as many believed they would be at the NBA Trade Deadline. Perhaps there aren't many that thought the Blazers would actually trade Jerami Grant at this year's deadline, though you can make the argument that they should've considering how good he's been this season, but at the least, Malcolm Brogdon seemed like a natural deadline move.

In the end, Blazers general manager Joe Cronin didn't like the offers for Brogdon enough to part ways with the combo guard. Whether or not that will end up being a mistake, in the long run, remains to be seen. However, at this point, you have to trust Cronin with the way he handled the Damian Lillard situation during the offseason.

The Blazers need a sign of encouragement as the season quickly comes to an end. This is a team that, even though they are young, has fallen short of expectations this year. The last stretch of the season could prove to be important in how they approach the next few steps of their rebuild.