The Trail Blazers and Hawks engaged in a modest trade on Monday that involved the services of two veteran wings. Evan Turner headed to Atlanta, while Kent Bazemore will make the journey to Portland for the 2018-19 season. In the aftermath of the trade, analysts from around the NBA media delivered their grades on the transaction.
ESPN’s Kevin Pelton awarded the Blazers with a B+ grade. According to Pelton, Bazemore’s ability to play off the ball should open up coach Terry Stotts’ offense.
More importantly, though, Bazemore’s ability to play without the ball enables him to simply stay on the court with Lillard and McCollum -- something Turner rarely did last season.