Portland Trail Blazers

Malcolm Brogdon could be on the move ahead of the Feb. 8 trade deadline.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on his podcast that he "wouldn't rule out" the Portland Trail Blazers trading the guard even though he doesn't believe they are having many "active" discussions about such a move at this point.

The update comes after Matt Moore of Action Network listed Brogdon as one of the "names to keep an eye on" for the Los Angeles Lakers.

As Wojnarowski noted, Portland values Brogdon's veteran leadership.

There also isn't much urgency for a potential trade, as he is still under contract through the 2024-25 campaign and could always be moved next year ahead of potential free agency. The calculus would be different if he could leave in free agency during the upcoming offseason.

After all, Portland is playing out the string on a lost season with a 12-30 record. The 31-year-old Brogdon likely won't be a primary contributor when it is ready to compete again, so a trade would almost be required for improved roster building if he was on an expiring deal.

Still, it wouldn't be shocking if the Trail Blazers do trade him.

Accumulating future assets is the most important thing the front office can do at this point, even if that means trading the guard to their Western Conference rivals in Los Angeles.

Brogdon could stabilize the backcourt for the Lakers or a number of other competitors as someone who can impact the game in a number of ways. He is averaging 15.5 points, 5.3 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 42 percent from deep.

That shooting in particular would play well in Los Angeles as opposing defenses collapse on LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Such a scenario would require a trade, and Wojnarowski still believes it is a possibility even without that urgency.

Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton has not shown much improvement since he entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick in 2018, but he doesn't believe his market value has taken a hit at all.

"I got nothing to prove in this league," Ayton told Mark Medina of Basketball Intelligence. "I'm a max player, and I'll continue to be a max player."

Ayton's declaration comes at a peculiar time, considering he has regressed mightily in his first year in Portland after being traded away from the Phoenix Suns this past offseason. In 26 games, the 25-year-old is averaging a career-low 12.8 points per game on a career-worst 53.7 percent shooting while also adding 10.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists.

It was initially believed that Ayton needed a change of scenery after he faced scrutiny throughout his tenure in Phoenix over his attitude and his lackluster playoff performances. However, his lack of humility while playing for a Portland team that ranks second-to-last in the Western Conference with a 12-30 record indicates that not much has changed for him besides his location.

Ayton is in the second year of a four-year, 132.9 million contract that he signed with the Suns before the 2022-23 season. He's making $32.4 million this year, and that number will rise to $34 million in 2024-25 and $35.5 million in 2025-26. It's hard to imagine that a team would be willing to give him a max extension following his performance this season.

Ayton and the Blazers will try to bounce back from Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers when they visit the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.

After star forward Pascal Siakam was traded from the Toronto Raptors to the Indiana Pacers last week, teams have turned their attention to other players on the trade market.

The Portland Trail Blazers have been fielding interest for forward Jerami Grant, but NBA insider Marc Stein reported that they are reluctant to trade the veteran.

"Portland has been repeatedly described by rival teams in recent weeks as resistant to the notion of trading forward Jerami Grant, who figured to be a target for some teams that missed out on Siakam," Stein stated.

Grant is in the first year of a five-year, $160 million contract after he re-signed with Portland over the offseason. He has been one of the few bright spots this season for the Blazers, who sit last in the Northwest Division with a 12-30 record.

In 37 games, Grant ranks second on the team with 21.7 points per game while also adding 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He's also shooting a career-best 40.3 percent from three-point range, making him a coveted target for teams seeking three-and-D wing players.

Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported last week that Grant is among the players that the Los Angeles Lakers plan on pursuing prior to the Feb. 8 trade deadline. HoopsHype's Michael Scotto noted that the Dallas Mavericks are looking for frontcourt upgrades and have "kept tabs" on Grant as well.

Scotto went on to explain Portland's hesitation to trade Grant, stating that the 29-year-old is "viewed as a good locker room leader, a compliment to the team's core of young guards on the roster, and has maintained his two-way versatility and efficient three-point shooting."

The Blazers have another veteran who's drawn interest from around the league in point guard Malcolm Brogdon, and many consider him more likely to be traded than Grant.

It's apparent that changes are coming to Portland, but it remains to be seen if the team receives an offer enticing enough to move on from one of its top players.

The Portland Trail Blazers have received interest in Jerami Grant leading up to the Feb. 8 trade deadline, but it appears they won't part with him easily, and another member of the team is reportedly more likely to be moved.

If the Trail Blazers make a trade at the deadline, executives believe Malcolm Brogdon is more likely to be traded than Jerami Grant because "he's considered less expensive to acquire," per HoopsHype's Michael Scotto.

"Rival executives who spoke with HoopsHype believe a fair asking price for Brogdon is a first-round pick and salary filler," Scotto wrote.

Brogdon joined the Trail Blazers in a trade from the Boston Celtics ahead of the 2023-24 campaign and he has played primarily off the bench for the franchise. In 31 games (17 starts), he's averaging 14.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists while shooting 43.4 percent from the floor and 41.0 percent from deep.

Grant is a better player, but the cost of acquiring him might be too high for opposing franchises to even consider going after him this winter.

Brogdon, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, would be just as valuable of an asset to any title contender. However, it's unclear which teams might be interested in acquiring him this winter.

Jerami Grant's name has popped up in trade rumors ahead of the Feb. 8 deadline, but he doesn't seem to be in a hurry to leave the Portland Trail Blazers.

Speaking to Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report, Grant said he's "cool here" referencing Portland while admitting he's seen the speculation:

"You definitely see it. But it's not anything in my control. I'm cool here. I'm good with what I'm doing. Keep my head down and keep working, keep trying to help the young guys as much as I can. But it's definitely something you see. It's not something you can do anything about, especially since I just signed a deal. I'm here for as long as they want me."

The Blazers' decision to keep Grant in free agency by giving him a five-year, $160 million contract raised a lot of eyebrows. It was a huge investment in a good 29-year-old player for a franchise entering the first stage of a rebuild after trading Damian Lillard.

Granted, the Lillard deal didn't come together until a few months after Grant's deal got done. But it wasn't a surprise that Lillard decided this was the right time to leave Portland.

CBS Sports' Brad Botkin called Grant's deal one of the worst given out by any team in free agency, calling him a " a third-option, sub-All-Star player making the same average annual salary that Jayson Tatum is making on his current contract."

Even though it would seem to make sense for a Blazers team evaluating young talent and building around players like Anfernee Simons and Scoot Henderson to at least consider trade options for Grant, it doesn't appear that is going to happen during the season.

Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer reported on Wednesday the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings had interest in the 10-year veteran, but the Blazers are "not expected to seriously entertain offers" for him.

The Blazers' 11-29 record is the second-worst mark in the Western Conference, four games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs (7-33). They snapped a four-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 105-103 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Grant has been a bright spot in Portland this season. He's averaging 21.4 points on 41.2 percent three-point shooting in 35 starts.

Deandre Ayton was set to return to the floor for the Portland Trail Blazers for the first time since Dec. 23, but the weather had different ideas.

Trail Blazers reporter Casey Holdahl noted head coach Chauncey Billups said the big man was ready to play in Wednesday's game against the Brooklyn Nets despite a previous knee injury that kept him sidelined.

However, Ayton was unable to get to the arena after he "tried for hours to combat the sheet of ice leading out of his neighborhood and the team sent people out to help as well, but to no avail."

That means Portland will need to deal with another opponent without the big man it acquired this past offseason in the trade that also sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Ayton has appeared in 24 games this season and is averaging a double-double of 13.1 points and 10.8 rebounds. He has been a bright spot for a team that is just 10-29 and already largely playing out the string in a lost season.

Portland will remain home for a Friday game against the Indiana Pacers, so Ayton will ideally be ready to go and able to get to the arena for that one.

Although Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant could be a good fit for a playoff contender, it doesn't appear his current team is interested in offloading him before the Feb. 8 trade deadline, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

"Jerami Grant would represent an absolute difference-maker for both Dallas and the Sacramento Kings, another leading suitor for Siakam," Fischer wrote. "The Kings have made Harrison Barnes, Kevin Huerter and Davion Mitchell available in trade conversations, sources said. However, Portland is not expected to seriously entertain offers for Grant, league sources told Yahoo Sports, in contrast to veteran point guard Malcolm Brogdon."

The 29-year-old Grant, who is on the first year of a five-season, $160 million contract, has averaged 21.1 points on 45.5 percent shooting for Portland this year.

The Blazers are struggling through another lost season that will likely end with them missing the playoffs for the third straight year. At 10-29, Portland sits nine games out of the play-in picture with just over half a season left. The beginning of the post-Damian Lillard era has naturally proven to be difficult for Portland.

That begs the question of whether the Blazers would offload veterans such as Grant or Malcolm Brogdon, who apparently could be gone by Feb. 8 if Fischer's report is any indication.

With Grant, there's the issue with his contract, which now runs through 2028. But if Portland is looking to turn this around within a year or two, he could be a key piece to that reconstruction.

The team in theory has some players in place to be more competitive, whether they be veterans (Grant), younger players who have a few years of experience (Anfernee Simons, Deandre Ayton), or rising talents a year or two into their NBA careers (Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson).

Injuries have certainly taken a toll (only two of the top six scorers have played more than 30 games) and hindered this team's ceiling. But it's not impossible to think another offseason of moves and draft picks could put Portland in a better place next year.

This season might be a lost cause for now, but as it stands, it appears Grant is part of the Blazers' future.

The Portland Trail Blazers reached a new low on Thursday, suffering a 139-77 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Remarkably, the 62-point loss was only the second-largest defeat in franchise history behind a 65-point loss to the Indiana Pacers in 1998, making the Blazers the only team in NBA history with multiple losses by over 60 points.

The brightest moment for the Blazers on Thursday was when they jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening minute of the game. The Thunder used an 18-0 run to take control of the contest and never looked back.

Oklahoma City held a 36-24 lead after the first quarter, but things would only get worse for Portland. The Thunder outscored the Blazers 39-15 in the second quarter and 43-17 in the third.

Six players scored in double figures for Oklahoma City, including all five starters. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 31 points in 21 minutes of action.

The only players to score in double figures for Portland were Anfernee Simons (14 points) and Scoot Henderson (13), who continued a disappointing rookie season by shooting an abysmal 4-of-21 from the field and 1-of-9 from three-point range in the loss.

The 62-point margin tied for the fifth-largest victory in NBA history. Ironically, the Thunder were on the receiving end of the largest blowout, losing by 73 to the Memphis Grizzlies in 2021.

The loss dropped the Blazers to 10-26, and the team looks well on its way to missing the playoffs for a third straight year.

Portland will have to regroup quickly, as it will be back in action on Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who lead the Western Conference with a 26-11 record.

It's been a slow start to the season for Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson, but he isn't giving up on the Rookie of the Year race just yet.

"Trying to get Rookie of the Year, that's still my goal," Henderson told Colin Ward-Henninger of CBS Sports. "That's still up in the air, I think."

The No. 3 overall pick of the 2023 NBA draft is averaging 11.1 points, 4.5 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game while shooting just 36.9 percent from the field and 25.3 percent from deep in 20 games.

It is far too early to give up hopes that the 19-year-old can be the franchise cornerstone successor to Damian Lillard in the Portland backcourt, but winning the Rookie of the Year might be a stretch at this point.

After all, Victor Wembanyama (18.3 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 1.3 steals per game) and Chet Holmgren (17.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game) have been excellent for the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, respectively.

Henderson will be fighting quite the uphill battle to make up ground on the two big men, especially since the 8-21 Trail Blazers won't be a playoff factor like Holmgren's 20-9 Thunder.

However, the Portland guard notched a double-double of 17 points and 11 assists in Tuesday's win over the Sacramento Kings in a sign he may be turning things around on an individual level.

If that continues, perhaps he will have a say in the Rookie of the Year race after all.

If the Portland Trail Blazers want to continue heading toward a complete rebuild, they reportedly could get a protected first-round draft pick in return if they traded Malcolm Brogdon.

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, three executives said they saw the price tag on a Brogdon trade as a protected first-rounder in the 2024 draft.

Scotto noted Brogdon, Jerami Grant and Robert Williams III were seen as potential trade targets at the start of the season, but Williams is out following season-ending knee surgery and "Grant's value fluctuated among the executives, with no clear consensus."

That could leave Brogdon if Portland is looking to make a move with an eye on the future.

Trading the guard would also create additional playing time for Scoot Henderson, which would be an important development for a Trail Blazers team counting on him to eventually develop into a franchise cornerstone.

Henderson was the No. 3 overall pick of the 2023 NBA draft and has averaged 26 minutes per game in eight contests this season. He has shown flashes of his potential but is averaging just 9.1 points, 4.0 assists and 2.6 rebounds while shooting 35.4 percent from the field and 22.6 percent from deep.

Brogdon turns 31 years old in December and is under contract through just the 2024-25 campaign.

He likely won't be a key member of the Trail Blazers when they are eventually ready to realistically compete at the same level they were during the peak Damian Lillard years, so trading him this season could help acquire a draft pick that would turn into a contributor in those future campaigns.

Brogdon is averaging 18.3 points, 6.3 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game this season and is someone who could easily slide into a contender's lineup and become a secondary contributor for a playoff run because of his ability to impact the game in a number of ways.