A 2024-25 Trail Blazers Trade Season Primer
Sunday is the unofficial start of the NBA’s trade season. Here’s what the Blazers have to work with and what they might be looking for.
Every Dec. 15, many media outlets (including this one) roll out stories signaling the start of “trade season.” That’s because today is the first day that most players who signed as free agents in the offseason are eligible to be traded.
And every year, most of these stories come with a caveat: just because teams have more flexibility to make trades right now doesn’t mean they will until closer to the Feb. 6 deadline.
But this year, there have been at least a couple of early movers, albeit making minor moves. On Friday, ESPN reported that Indiana agreed to a deal for Heat big man Thomas Bryant to shore up their frontcourt depth, and yesterday, Golden State agreed to a deal with Brooklyn for Dennis Schröder. Neither of these deals are earth-shattering, but they came well before teams usually start making trades. These could be one-off moves, or it could be a sign that teams aren’t going to wait until the deadline this year.
Where do the Trail Blazers figure into things?
It’s too early to say. But they have several players that should and will receive interest, and will undoubtedly be one of the teams most talked about around the NBA between now and February. That was the case last year, too, and Joe Cronin ended up standing pat with the exception of taking a no-risk flier on Dalano Banton that’s worked out exceptionally well.
It may be a quieter deadline across the league than the last few have been, as teams navigate a highly restrictive new CBA. (My buddy Fred Katz at The Athletic has a good breakdown of just how limited many teams are in what they can do, that I recommend reading.)
But the Blazers, at least right now, figure to be one of the teams most active teams in talks, whether or not deals end up getting done.
Here’s everything you need to know about Portland’s financial situation, what they have to work with and which players are most likely to be on the move.