This Changes EVERYTHING For The Portland Trail Blazers..

This Changes EVERYTHING For The Portland Trail Blazers..

after an eventful 2024 NBA draft the Portland Trailblazers came away with two players that look like they’re going to be a part of their young core for years to come as about an hour before the draft started they traded for Denny avdia from the Washington Wizards giving up the 14th pick a 2029 first round pick as well as Malcolm Brogden and then with the seventh overall pick took Donovan kingan out of the University of Connecticut and let me just say I love what the Portland Trailblazers did in this year’s NBA draft outside of selling second round picks for cash so that jod Allen can Pat her Pockets not only do both of these moves add some skills that I like in front Court players moving forward it also raises some questions about the future of a couple of veterans on this Blazer team moving forward draft Knight changed everything for the Portland Trailblazers but before I jump into that make sure you tune in for our free agency live stream tomorrow going live about an hour before free agency starts we’ll have live Twitter feeds on screen from Shams and W and we will break down every free agent signing as well every storyline regarding your Portland Trail Blazers it’s also very likely that the Blazers are not done trading this off season so if a trade happens we will go live as soon as possible to cover it now let’s just talk about the Denny avdia trade we had a live stream that started right after this trade so we’ve already talked about it on air but just a quick synopsis I love this deal from Joe Cronin I think this is the best trade that he’s made during his tenure as Portland Trailblazer GM Denny AIA was not a guy that I expected the Wizards to trade this off season he looked like he was going to be a key part of their core however the Wizards valued that 14th pick they got back and they drafted Bob Carrington with who’s a young High upside guard that I really like for them and they also have a couple of forwards right now with K kosma who’s more of a veteran and balal kulali who was a rookie last year and looked pretty dang solid I think Malcolm Brogden can be a good guard Mentor for Carrington and overall I don’t think this is a horrible trade for the Wizards however I really really like it for the Blazers as Denny AIA averaged 15 points per game last year almost eight rebounds and almost four assists and also is a really good versatile Defender he’s basically that Do-it all forward that the Blazers have been missing since they lost Nicholas patum and I really like the way AIA Fitz moving forward he can play some point forward he can play off the ball he’s a capable cutter he’s just somebody that is solid in literally every area and should upgrade the Blazers defensively from day one ultimately he can play the three or the four I kind of like him a little bit more at the power forward spot and if I was the Blazers I would be looking to move off Jeremy Grant and get back as much value as they can get for him in a trade we’ll talk about that a little bit later but the other positive for Denny avdia is his contract as next year he starts a four-year extension that he originally signed with the Wizards before last season and this extension is a good one and in this extension next season he’s making $15.6 million the season after it goes down to 14 .4 the season after it’s 13.1 and his final season in 2027 2028 he’s making $1.9 million yes his salary goes down and it’s a bargain considering the type of production that AIA showed last season he’s still 23 years old so he’s still improving he’s still going to get better so this contract as it declines is going to look like a phenomenal value especially considering the salary cap is going to rise tremendously as the NBA puts in place a new TV rights deal ultimately the Blazers longterm can have a core set in place with scoot Henderson Shaden sharp Denny AIA Tani Kamara Donovan kingan and whoever they draft in the next couple of drafts and they could have Max cap space on top of that part of the reason is because Denny avd is a good NBA player already will be a starting forward for this team and with everybody else being young and on rookie deals that’s a really good spot for the Blazers to be in especially if they can flip some of their higher pressed Veterans for future first round picks Denny avdia fits perfectly with a timeline that involves the Blazers having multiple future first a bunch of cap space and a really good young core if he was making what he probably should be making in upcoming Seasons then the Blazers would have a little bit less of that flexibility so it makes sense for Portland to pursue it but before we talk about who should be going out let’s talk a little bit about Donovan kingan I wasn’t as high as others regarding Donovan kingan leading up to this draft however however I’m pretty happy to get him with the seventh overall pick there were rumors that he’d go number one to Atlanta and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Blazers had Kling in number one on their entire Big Board as they liked him during last year’s NBA draft process kingan of course elected to go back to Yukon one another championship and the Blazers have kept really close tabs on him during this entire time he’s a High character guy a selfless teammate and could be the defensive anchor for the Portland Trailblazers for the next decade as 7’2 with a 9 foot S standing reach the Blazers needed some size up front one day they’re going to have to deal with Victor one Bama in that playoff series having a guy like Donovan kingan that I think can move his feet just well enough to defend in space and can protect the rim is a key piece to compete in the west long term kingan’s jump shot apparently looked very good in the private workout that he had with the Portland Trailblazers and in workouts he seems like a very capable shooter he was only two for eight last year from behind the arc for Yukon he didn’t shoot many and when about why he didn’t shoot much he put it simply and I’m paraphrasing that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to win and whatever his coach tells him to do he’s not somebody that’s going to complain about his role going to complain about his touches going to complain about his minutes this is the type of guy that is really good to bring into a locker room and can help create a culture not just a selfless culture but a defensive one and that’s something the Blazers haven’t had in quite a long time kingan’s going to come in work his ass off and he’s going to come in and immediately improve this Portland Trailblazers defense and that is something that is very exciting overall I like the combination of avdia and kingan because avdia could be the Blazer’s best point of attack Defender and he’s a versatile one and then kingan is their best rim protector on day one defensively both those guys should help out this Blazer team a ton but then also both of them can pass avdia as I said averaged almost four assists and kingan showed some serious passing flashes playing in a very intricate Yukon offense last season I actually think yukon’s offense is probably more complicated than the Blazers offense under chony Bops Klan should have no problem making the right pass making the right play in this Blazer offense and it’s pretty hard to find two highlevel potentially Elite defensive players that provide passing upside as well and if that’s the identity the Blazers are trying to forge in their front Court then I like that those traits are really good to have in role players playing next to a star back court hopefully the Blazers can develop that star back court in the coming years and that’s why I loved what the lasers did on draft day and that’s why I think it completely changes this team going forward of course this raises questions about both Jeremy Grant and DeAndre aton’s future on this team I think it would make sense for the Blazers to shop Aon right now in order to clear a starting spot for Donovan kingan I know he’s a rookie but he’s ready to play right away I don’t think he’s going to have the same struggles as scoot Henderson did last year because kingan isn’t going to have to run an NBA offense and his strengths should be strengths from day one which are his size and length and protecting the rim and making the right play the Blazers have duop wath and Robert Williams thei on this team if they traded Aon you would still have some solid Center depth you wouldn’t have to play cling in a ton of minutes and if Robert Williams II third gets hurt of course dwap wath can play some backup center minutes we saw that last year I like kingan getting starting level reps against NBA caliber bigs from day one I think that would be good experience for him after having some very high level experience playing for Yukon the past couple of seasons and if the Blazers could flip DeAndre Aton for a couple of expiring contracts and a first round pick if they’re lucky then they’d save about $35 million in cap space next off season now if they can’t get back anything for Aon then it may make sense to go forward into next season with Aon and kingan backing him up long-term kingan is the starting center on this team Aon is not chony Bops in the press conference for Donovan kingan brought up that he may experiment with playing both those guys together he also referenced a lot of teams that play to bigs together I don’t like that at all though as all the Twin Tower combinations that chony bips referenced at least one of the bigs could shoot threes and at least one of the bigs was okay guarding the perimeter I think both kingan and Aon are better defensively at the five and not well suited guarding the perimeter as their primary defensive role so I don’t think either of them defensively make much sense at power forward and then offensively Aon is a mid-range maestro but has never developed into a three-point shooter didn’t attempt a single three for the first 40 games last season I have no faith in DeAndre Aton ever becoming a three-point shooter maybe this of the year he finally does it but I feel like we’ve been having that conversation regarding Aton for five to six years now if it was going to happen I feel like it would have happened by now his shot is very flat which does not translate well behind the ark so if you’re playing those two bigs together you’re hoping that Donovan kingan in year one can knock down ba 3s I think that’s too much to ask of kingan and if you’re playing two non three-point shooting threats on the floor it’s just going to clog the paint for scoot Henderson and Shaden sharp and then if you run a pick and roll say with Scoot and kinging aon’s Defender is just going to be able to sit in the paint and disrupt that entire pick and roll and it just clogs things up for the guards and ultimately I don’t think playing Aon and kinging together is the best thing for Donovan kingan but also not the best thing for the Blazers young guards they try and develop Scoot and sharp need more floor spacing they don’t need to have to drive into a super packed paint all the time and some people think that Aon can space the floor by knocking down mid-range shots however if he’s hanging around the elbow his Defender is going to have a very easy time stunting on pick and roll drives and just disrupting plays and still being able to get back to Aon also Aon standing there is a driving lane that a guard is unable to take it’s just clunky it clogs things up I don’t like that combination on the floor I think when Chanty Bops experiments with it it’s not going to go too well and it’s probably something you would shy away from later on in the season so if the Blazers don’t trade DeAndre Aon then it makes sense to trade Robert Williams II I don’t think the Blazers can get any value back for him but ultimately if you have Rob will if you have kingan if you have Aon the Blazers probably are either not going to play Robert Williams next season or they’re going to play Robert Williams or DeAndre Aon too much at the power forward position which both scenarios don’t sound good to me it would make sense just to get whatever you can for DeAndre Aon or Robert Williams and as I said if you can get expir rings for Aon that’s a lot of money you save next off season and that also applies to Jeremy Grant I like Denny abdia better at the four I like his defensive rebounding better at the four than Jeremy Grant’s and he’s a guy that can grab a rebound and push the pace as a point forward and help the Blazers increase their Pace Jeremy Grant is it somebody who really does that and I’ve lamented Jeremy Grant not doing the little things well enough those things being the right pass rebounding the ball and that defensively I have not been impressed with Granton Portland I think he’s above average guarding forwards however the Blazers have spent a lot of time putting him on guards and he just struggles getting through on ball screens avdia is much better in that regard so I think he can switch down the lineup easier and starting avdia at the four gives more minutes at the small forward position for Shaden sharp if he has to play if aony Simons returns I don’t think it’s likely that Simons returns but it might still be possible and then of course you got tamani Kamara that can play the three defensively I really like his combination with avdia you also have Delano Banton and matis thel who can play some three so you got some players at that position if you’re also playing avdia there that’s a bit of a log Jam assuming they might still play thore banson and even if you don’t in order to get Kamar enough minutes one of him or avdia are going to have to slide up to the power forward position where the Blazers also have a first round pick from last year and Chris Murray as well as potentially Jabari Walker so to me it makes sense to trade Jeremy Grant I’m a little bit worried about abdia not getting enough touches if Jeremy Grant is still on this roster if DeAndre Aiden’s still here and then you got scoot sharp maybe Anthony Simons that’s a lot of guys that are going to take a lot of shots and avdia played his best basketball last season when he was used as a point forward bringing the ball up the court creating for himself creating for others and making plays happen he is the most dynamic front Court player in that regard by far I know Jeremy can score but he’s not somebody that sets up other players like avdia does he’s not a ball handler like avdia is so ultimately I would like for the Blazers to cash in on Jeremy Grant’s value I think they’ll at least be able to get back a first round pick hopefully two maybe it’s a first round pick and a young player that makes sense I’m not sure but by trading Jeremy Grant you open up minutes at the four for Kamar or avdia you also open up touches and shots which makes things work a little bit easier you can get back that future draft capital and as I said if the Blazers get back expiring contracts for Grant then that is over $30 million that they’d save next off season if the Blazers are able to do that for Aon and Grant then you could be talking about the Blazers having some legitimate cap space next off season and I know it’s Portland and in a rebuild you’re probably not going to sign a star level free agent but I mean Paul George is taking a free agent meeting with the Orlando Magic this year so if the Blazers look okay next year and have money to give somebody that might not get a Max contract but might make sense for the Blazer to bring in then maybe you can talk about them making a little bit of a splash and actually being competitive for years to come more likely though is the Blazers could have the flexibility to make moves to add to their young core if the move made sense or they could accumulate assets by taking on salary with draft picks attached it would just be a better financial situation for the Blazers moving forward and they wouldn’t even necessarily have to use that cap space long term they would need to reach the salary floor you could always sign a one-year contract for a player just to reach that floor and then maybe they’re a trade ass set at the deadline and you could just have a ton of flexibility moving forward and part of that is due to a diaa having a declining contract that is a really good value for his production anyway let me know what you think of avdia and kingan down in the comment section below and let me know what you think should happen with Jeremy Grant and DeAndre Aon and how the Blazers sort out their rotation for next season and then tomorrow we’re going to have that free agency stream should be a lot of fun we’ll be live for probably 8 hours in a row discussing all the signings moves maybe some trades as well so hopefully you can join us and hang out with us that should be a lot of fun and with that being said I’m out of here I’ll catch you next time until then as always peace out go Blazers

Why Deni Avdija and Donovan Clingan Change EVERYTHING for the Portland Trail Blazers

Blazers Uprise Merch
Link – https://blazersuprise.myshopify.com/

Join our Discord!
https://discord.gg/UAbNem5

Blazers Uprise Podcasts (2nd Channel):
https://www.youtube.com/c/blazersupriselive

Twitter:
Torey Jones – https://www.twitter.com/toreyjonesyt
Eric Brandt – https://www.twitter.com/hoopsjock
Blazers Uprise – https://www.twitter.com/blazersupriseyt