Blazers' Rumored Trade Scenarios Involving Knicks Sending Mixed Messages

The Portland Trail Blazers and New York Knicks are being linked as the February 5 NBA trade deadline approaches, but quite frankly, the rumors are all over the place.

First, there's the Stein Line's Marc Stein linking the Knicks to a potential Jrue Holiday trade. Stein writes that "The presumption that acquiring Holiday — if there's a way — would make the Knicks an even more attractive destination to Holiday's former Bucks teammate Antetokounmpo."

"New York is believed to hold a longstanding fondness for Holiday as a potential backcourt complement to Jalen Brunson," he added.

Then, there's a potential mock trade from Rip City Project's Quinn Everts that would send Donovan Clingan, Jerami Grant, and Mattise Thybulle's contract to the Knicks for Karl-Anthony Towns on the other end of the spectrum.

Two trade scenarios that indicate two vastly different gameplans, and lead to the natural question: is Portland a team that needs to sell veterans for youth, or sell youth for a star making over $50 million per season?

Maybe it can trade veterans without tearing it down, and those aren't the only two ways forward for the franchise during trade season.

Blazers May Trade Jrue Holiday or Jerami Grant to Extend Deni Avdija

It goes without saying that Deni Avdija's health determines whether this is a go-for-it season or a tear-it-down year. He's been deemed questionable in recent days with a back injury, but that injury has been hounding him for nearly two months now.

Either way, though, the front office may need to send a veteran like Holiday or Grant to keep Avdija long-term.

"To me, at some point in the next 18 months, they need to find a way to clear one of Jerami Grant or Jrue Holiday off of this roster in order to renegotiate and extend his deal. It doesn't have to be now, but you have to figure out a way to add more years to his deal," The Athletic's Sam Vecenie said on a recent episode of the Game Theory Podcast.

Maybe Holiday is part of the three-team deal that reunites him and Giannis Antetokounmpo in Gotham City. Perhaps, in that same deal, valuable expiring contracts like Gary Trent Jr., Gary Harris, and/or Kevin Porter Jr., who can step in and help Portland's playoff push while also playing for their next contracts with the Blazers or elsewhere.

Portland's best plan could be to get temporary talent and draft capital for Holiday to help the team win now, add cheap role players in future drafts, and set the stage for a big Avdija extension, once his current bargain bin pact ends.