The Trail Blazers Struck Gold With Deni Avdija...

The Portland Trail Blazers made one of the most interesting moves on draft day, trading Malcolm Brogdon, the 14th pick, and a future first to Washington in exchange for Deni Avdija. Some people online seemed upset by this, as if Portland gave up too much, but it’s hard for me to oversell how fantastic of a deal this was for the Blazers. I haven’t loved every move that Joe Cronin has made, but this is undeniably a good one. Brogdon is a solid player, but at 31 years old, he clearly doesn’t match the rebuilding timeline for Portland. On top of that, he played just 39 games last season and clearly has some concerning injury history playing 56 games or less in 5 of his 8 seasons as a pro. I also don’t mind throwing in 14, sure it’s a lottery pick but late lottery guys often don’t pan out, and in a draft that was considered pretty weak, who really cares. If Bub Carrington looks like a star point guard for the Wizards then this will age somewhat poorly, but at the moment I’m not too worried about it. So in exchange for a player that didn’t fit and an unguaranteed prospect, they get a do-it-all wing who’s on arguably the most team friendly contract in the entire NBA. His 4-year, $55 million extension is drastically below the value he provides on the court. After the all-star break this season, Avidja averaged 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists per game while shooting 48% from the floor. He’s not quite all-defense team level, but he is a very good defender, and will likely be Portland’s best defender the moment he steps on the floor. I think he has 20 and 10 upside, which will make him a very good starting forward for Portland for many years to come. His arrival also likely makes a player like Jerami Grant more expendable, and they could move off of his $32 million annually contract. Avdija slides right into a promising young core for the Blazers, that features guards Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson, as well as bigs including DeAndre Ayton and the number 7 overall pick Donovan Clingan. I love this deal for Portland, and for this first time in what feels like forever, the Blazers have a good young forward that they can have as art of their core moving forward. The Wizards likely did this move in an effort to tank for another season, as Avdija would make them too good, but I’m shocked at their willingness to move off a talent like this. The Trail Blazers struck gold with Deni Avdija.

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