Every NBA fan's eye is trained on their favorite franchise as the trade deadline of Thursday, February 9 draws closer, and one team that is expected to be a major player is the Portland Trail Blazers.
Danny Marang of "1080 The Fan," a commercial AM radio station in Portland, Oregon, made an appearance on KGW Sports Sunday and spoke with host Orlando Sanchez about the Blazers' strategy.
"They want to be more athletic; they want to be more up-tempo; they want to be more aggressive defensively. Jusuf Nurkic just really doesn't fit that profile. As much as [Josh] Hart does kind of fit that profile, they're playing him out of position [at small forward]," Marang said as quoted by KGW.com.
Marang then explained that guys like Jarred Vanderbilt and Jae Crowder are definitely on the Blazers' radar alongside centers Mo Bamba and Nerlens Noel of the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons respectively.
"He allows them to be more switchable, more aggressive with their coverage schemes defensively, and get out in the open court," Marang said of Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt switched teams this offseason as part of the five-player, five-pick trade package that sent Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves and "Vando" to the Utah Jazz.
The Kentucky product is certainly enjoying his time in Salt Lake City as he is on pace to hit career-high averages in points (8.3) and assists (2.7) while proving to be a sturdy rebounder (7.9) and decent shot-maker (55.6 percent) plus the occasional three-point make (33.3 percent).
While it would appear that the Jazz would rather keep Vanderbilt around, it all depends on whether the Danny Ainge-led front office will go after a play-in seed or opt to backslide for better draft picks.
For context, the Jazz currently have three first-rounders in this year's draft, none for 2024, and three first-rounder and a second-round pick in 2025.
Marang also noted that the Phoenix Suns' Jae Crowder is supposedly in play for the Blazers as well.
"Real tough, hard-nosed... plays with a real edge. A championship-caliber wing defender who could bring a level of toughness," he was quoted to have said.
Crowder has been out of the Suns' roster since September 25, 2022 after agreeing with the franchise to sit out the season until the team can find a new home for him.
Phoenix is yet to find a suitable return for Crowder's services despite their best attempts and the onus is on Suns president of basketball operations James Jones and new owner Matt Ishbia to build a title contender with a closing championship window in their midst.
Vanderbilt and Crowder are arguably solid targets for a team that is sorely needing defensive help in the paint and the possibility of Bamba and Noel coming off the bench would surely be enough to at least lock in a playoff seed—a play-in spot at the worst.
The Blazers are currently out of the playoff picture with a record of 26-27, good for 11th in the Western Conference and Damian Lillard is in need of help quickly if they are to make the most of the remaining years of his prime.
