Blazers Predicted to Land Massive Star in Deandre Ayton Trade Idea

Had they not tanked the end of their 2024-25 regular season, the Portland Trail Blazers very well could have made at least the Western Conference's play-in tournament bracket this spring.

Instead, Portland decided to make a bid for a fourth straight lottery pick, in what's expected to be a loaded 2025 NBA Draft, and finished with a 36-46 record. The Trail Blazers notched the No. 11 pick for their efforts.

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Now, the team faces an interesting offseason. Newly extended general manager Joe Cronin could help build on the Trail Blazers' intriguing core of young players with future assets, or he could look to meaningfully improve the club and make it a fringe playoff contender in the NBA's more talented conference.

Portland has several veterans on pricey deals that it could trade, potentially for draft equity.

Chief among them is center Deandre Ayton. Ayton's solid two-way game helped elevate the Trail Blazers in their run to competence for a while, but health issues for a second straight season limited him to just 40 healthy games (he only played 55 last year). The 7-footer out of Arizona averaged 14.4 points on 56.6 percent shooting from the floor and 66.7 percent shooting from the foul line, 10.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 blocks, and 0.8 steals a night.

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The emergence of All-Rookie former UConn center Donovan Clingan as a reliable defensive option already has made Ayton somewhat expendable.

The fact that Ayton is on an expiring $35.6 million contract could be appetizing for an enterprising team looking to carve out some major cap space next summer.

In a new trade preview piece, Dan Favale of Bleacher Report posits that the Trail Blazers could make a move on a current All-Star by leveraging some of their own draft equity and the Ayton contract. Is it a win-now move? Not exactly, but the hypothetical incoming player is so talented he may be worth a flier.

New Orleans Pelicans Receive: Deandre Ayton, No. 11 pick, Milwaukee's 2028 first-round pick (swap rights), Milwaukee's 2029 first-round pick (swap rights)
Portland Trail Blazers: Zion Williamson

Still just 24, the 6-foot-6 former Duke standout is already a two-time All-Star, although he has played in just 30 or fewer games across four of his six pro seasons so far in New Orleans. When healthy, Williamson is a terrific power player, able to body up pretty much any opposition within the paint and muscle through contact for easy points.

In his 30 healthy games this year for the lottery-bound Pelicans, Williamson averaged 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists, right in line with his career output. Could Portland survive while starting two non-shooting, low post-oriented players in Clingan and Williamson? It's a question worth exploring. Williamson is too good a prospect, and his inconsistent health has made him too available, for the Trail Blazers to not pull the trigger on this deal if it presents itself.

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