Sports
NBA Trade Rumors: Zion, Siakam, Anunoby Weren't Available to Blazers for No. 3 Pick – Bleacher Report
Prior to the 2023 NBA draft last month, the Portland Trail Blazers were widely rumored to be exploring trades for the No. 3 overall pick. However, no deal came to fruition and they went on to select promising guard Scoot Henderson.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe revealed Wednesday that the Blazers likely were forced to hold on to the pick because some of the players they targeted were not made available for a trade by their respective teams.
“The New Orleans Pelicans and Toronto Raptors weren’t ready on draft day to pivot away from Zion Williamson, Pascal Siakam or O.G. Anunoby, sources have said,” Lowe stated.
The Blazers failing to trade the No. 3 pick for a star player and using it to select Henderson resulted in star point guard Damian Lillard requesting to be traded from the franchise. Lillard, who turns 33 on Saturday, has expressed a desire to compete for a championship at this stage in his career, and Portland is not in a position to do so as it stares down the barrel of a potential rebuild.
Lowe pointed out that acquiring one of those three superstars likely wouldn’t have made the Blazers legitimate title contenders next season, so it would’ve been difficult to justify trading the third pick in the draft for one of them.
“Williamson is a franchise-changer when healthy, but he’s rarely healthy,” Lowe stated. “Siakam and Anunoby are very good–Siakam is an All-Star–but would either have vaulted Portland into the ring of championship favorites?”
Lowe also noted that Portland’s other trade targets didn’t gain much traction, if any at all. The Brooklyn Nets “never showed interest in swapping” star swingman Mikal Bridges for a package of the No. 3 pick and rising guard Anfernee Simons. The Miami Heat “chuckled at Portland potentially asking about” star center Bam Adebayo.
It sounds like the Blazers had no choice but to hold on to the pick, as they likely would’ve given it up for a player of lesser value. Unfortunately, that decision likely will lead to the departure of the face of the franchise.
