Portland Trail Blazers

The 6-foot-5 Matisse Thybulle and the 6-8 Cam Reddish are the Blazers' key acquisitions.

Then there is Phoenix (30-26), a franchise that had the best record in the Western Conference before Devin Booker got injured and has won eight of its last 10 games. The Blazers host the Lakers on Monday night. In the trade, the Suns lost quality young players in Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, plus four first-round picks. - Matisse Thybulle: The three-way deal had the Blazers sending Mykhailiuk and a second-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets, who sent Jalen McDaniels to Philadelphia. As a bonus, the Blazers landed the Knicks’ lottery-protected first-round pick this year that if not conveyed converts into four second-round picks. The defense, however, carries a 117.6 rating, which ranks 27th. Two weeks ago, the Lakers added Rui Hachimura. Here are the deals that brought all three to Portland: The Blazers’ offense is playoff-worthy. Reddish and Thybulle are mediocre shooters, but they’re athletic enough to finish well at the rim. It would appear doubtful that Knox will crack the Blazers’ rotation. Both excel on defense, especially Thybulle, a suffocating defender who this season has a 104.7 defensive rating.

Portland's behavior was curious at the NBA Trade Deadline. We help you sort it out.

That said, you can see why, in context, the Blazers made the moves they did. But each year we try to perpetuate Blazers fandom—and make the world a better place—by sending a couple thousand kids to see the Blazers play in person. The Blazers agreed to two trades where they gave up the best player in the deal. They’ll need it if they plan to pick up a player off of the waiver market. At the same time, they sacrificed talent and shooting at exactly those positions. If the Blazers plan to slow down and build organically through a youth movement, extra draft picks are the way to go. Even less jolly: Gary Payton II is probably better than any player the Blazers acquired, and he wasn’t even the best player they gave up. If they get a serviceable player out of this exchange, the Blazers should be happy. Greg Brown was at the lowest end of Portland’s rotation and the bottom of their salary structure. While there’s no telling unless the Blazers share publicly—and they have no reason to do so overtly—the “15 Games” portion of Payton’s stat line may have something to do with the disenchantment. If the Blazers were on their way to a title run, he might have had incentive to opt in. That’s likely to be a mediocre asset in its own right, but it opens up trade possibilities that the Blazers didn’t have at this deadline precisely because they lacked available first-rounders.

Here is the Portland Trail Blazers updated roster and depth chart after the deals they made prior to the 2023 NBA trade deadline.

The athleticism and scoring ability he showed in college at Kentucky was alluring, but he’s failed to develop into even a rotation-caliber player. He is also a tenacious defender who uses his quickness and instincts to disrupt opposing offenses. The Knicks also sent Svi Mykhailiuk and Ryan Arcidiacono to the Blazers in this deal. If he struggles, the Blazers can decline his $8.1 million qualifying offer this summer. Reddish is a versatile player who can play multiple positions on the court, including shooting guard and small forward. Logically, trading Hart’s expiring deal was a move Portland General Manager Joe Cronin had to make, as the Blazers were unlikely to give him a contract extension.