Arron Afflalo Trade About More Than Just This Season For Portland Trail Blazers
By Brian Brennan
@b2brennan
Chris Humphreys- USA Today Sports
Arron Afflalo was part of a five-player trade between the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday. In case you missed it, here is the entire deal:
Portland gets: Afflalo, Alonzo Gee
Denver gets: Thomas Robinson, Will Barton, Victor Claver, protected first-round pick
The Nuggets are not going anywhere this season, and Afflalo was a good piece to have to pick up some future rebuilding blocks. Robinson has already spoken of a buyout and Barton and Claver aren’t going to be stars in this league, but the draft pick is important for Denver. Of course the pick is protected so it could be two second-round picks eventually, but Denver took what it was offered on Thursday.
Most of the talk around the trade is that Afflalo is the player who will leap the Trail Blazers into NBA championship contention. They have been one of multiple teams hovering the line of a big threat in the West, but now they jump that line and become one of the elite three in my opinion along with the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies.
LaMarcus Aldridge is an unrestricted free agent after the season. He will likely get a maximum contract offer from multiple teams, including the Trail Blazers. In the past, Aldridge has expressed his desire to win and has been open about the idea of moving to a contender. Now that Portland is a contender, he has said he would like to stay, so this is where Afflalo comes in. If the Trail Blazers can make a big playoff push and the supporting cast can prove to Aldridge that they are in the contention game for the long run, Aldridge will have a hard time leaving Rip City.
Of course all things need to fall into place — the most ideal scenario including a championship trophy — so we will see how things play out. For now, with all the talk surrounding what Afflalo brings to the Trail Blazers, the main reason the deal was made is to secure the future of star forward Aldridge.
Brian Brennan is a Portland Trail Blazers writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @b2brennan.
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