The 2019 NBA Trade deadline is still months away, but Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report is already looking ahead to possible moves that didn’t come to fruition this summer, but still might. A couple Portland Trail Blazers guards feature prominently in the article listing one player each NBA team should target by February.
Hughes goes pie-in-the-sky for the Trail Blazers themselves, suggesting they target Minnesota Timberwolves wing Jimmy Butler without trading away Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
Jimmy Butler may be unhappy in Minnesota, and although adding him at the deadline creates a risk he’ll bounce after opting out of his deal, it’s possible Portland is ready to gamble.