It’s time for the Trail Blazers to find a new home for Dame. What better place than Los Angeles where he can team up with two other top players of the past decade for a chance at finally getting his first title. A trio of Dame, Kawhi, and PG would be lethal even in the current “non-superteam” state of the NBA. The Clippers would also retain key bench pieces like Powell, Gordon, and Covington while adding Nurkic to the mix. The Clippers would instantly become championship favorites and Lillard would have a chance to prove himself.

The player return that Portland receives isn’t great but hey at least Batum could retire as a Trail Blazer. I do believe that with more playing time, Portland could make something out of at least one of Mann, Boston, or Hyland and Zubac has become a productive big and is only 25. The most important pieces they receive is the draft capital, especially another top 20 pick in this years draft. This could allow Portland to trade up to the top 4 if they don’t move up in the lottery given that they also have the Knicks pick which will be in the 20 range. I think that Jarace Walker would be the perfect pick for the Blazers. I am very intrigued by a young core featuring a starting lineup of:

Mann - Simons - Sharpe - Walker - Zubac

The Heat add a scorer who can fill their hole at power forward and get off of Duncan Robinson’s contract just for swapping their top 20 first round pick for what will likely be the last pick of the first round.