Top 5 Realistic Stars Trail Blazers Could Trade For

Would the Portland Trail Blazers, who have been riding a slow and steady rebuild for four years under head coach Chauncey Billups, be willing to turbocharge things, leveraging some of their young core to acquire a win-now talent?

Newly-extended general manager Joe Cronin now has a long runway with which to build his roster, so in theory, it makes sense for him to maximize future draft equity more than looking to make a bid for star pieces.

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Still, if the price is right and the talent is appetizing, perhaps Cronin would make a move for one of these players.

1. Zion Williamson

The two-time All-Star New Orleans Pelicans power forward's fate might be the biggest question mark of the offseason, outside of two other, more seasoned stars on our list.

Williamson, when healthy, is an athletic superfreak, an incredible downhill force who can bully his way deep into the paint against practically any opponent.

But he's rarely healthy. The 6-foot-6 Duke product has only played more than 30 games in two of his six NBA seasons. With New Orleans bringing in a new team president in Joe Dumars, and fielding the No. 7 pick in this year's draft, it's possible that the Pelicans will look to get off Williamson's massive salary. Portland can supply major draft equity and some young pieces, the most appetizing of which would likely be Toumani Camara or Deni Avdija (Cronin should not move both in any deal).

In his 30 healthy games last year, Williamson averaged 24.6 points on 56.7 percent shooting from the floor and 65.6 percent shooting from the foul line, 7.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.9 blocks a night. Still just 24, Williamson has plenty of upside. But whether it can be unlocked remains to be seen.

2. Tyler Herro

The 6-foot-5 swingman out of the University of Kentucky, still just 25, made his first All-Star team this season on an embattled Miami Heat squad headed nowhere fast.

An offense-only player, Herro submitted an impressive stat line this season, averaging 23.9 points on .472/.375/.878 shooting splits, 5.5 assists and 5.2 rebounds in 77 regular season bouts.

Given Miami's decided non-contender status this season, it may behoove the club to look for an attractive trade package for either Herro or three-time All-Star big man Bam Adebayo.

Herro would essentially be a massive Scoot Henderson/Anfernee Simons upgrade. Portland could include either or both of those players in a deal (or perhaps Simons and Shaedon Sharpe), as well as a boatload of trade assets.

3. Scottie Barnes

Barnes, who, like Herro, is another young one-time All-Star, would help strengthen Portland's already-impressive defense even further. The question in a Barnes deal, of course, is what the Toronto Raptors want in return for their best player's services?

Multiple draft picks coming back is a given, but would the team also try to extract Camara or Avdija in a deal?

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Barnes is likely considered a better overall player than Camara, but given Camara's relative cost, is he actually much more valuable at this point?

Would Toronto settle for picks, a veteran contract, and a young piece with upside a la Sharpe or Henderson? Or would the Raptors demand at least Camara back?

4. Zach LaVine

After yet another disappointing postseason, the now-Sacramento Kings shooting guard finds himself at something of a career crossroads. The UCLA product remains a lethal three-level scorer, but his defensive vulnerability and his ball-stopping have made him woefully overpaid. The 30-year-old is owed $47.5 million next season and has a $49 million player option for 2026-27.

A two-time All-Star with the Chicago Bulls, LaVine would represent a massive positional upgrade over Shaedon Sharpe at the two-guard spot. If Cronin thinks that bringing in LaVine while offloading Sharpe, a veteran contract like Ayton's, and probably finite (at least, compared to everyone else on this list) draft chips, it may be worth a flier. He could improve Portland's floor and help fill out its backcourt with another savvy ball handler and scorer.

5. Giannis Antetokounmpo

The Milwaukee Bucks superstar seems likely to want to call his shot this summer, and given that Portland is a small market team without another current All-Star (although Avdija is trending that way), it seems unlikely that he'll want to be traded to the Trail Blazers in the offseason — if he even demands a deal at all.

Still, Antetokounmpo represents the kind of special talent that any team would want. He's ranked lower than everyone else here because his acquisition feels the least likely, and wouldn't make a ton of sense for Cronin at present. If the Bucks were able to extract Camara, Sharpe, a veteran contract they could flip a la Ayton's or Jerami Grant's, this year's draft pick, and every other Portland draft pick, would that be enough to get a deal done? Time will tell, though it feels quite unlikely.

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