Trail Blazers News: Why Portland Opted To Not Trade Impending Free Agent Malcolm Brogdon

Your Portland Trail Blazers are finally fully embracing their rebuild, which to be fair they were in the midst of whether or not they admitted it in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

The Trail Blazers at least have one key veteran who probably could have fetched them not-insignificant future draft equity this season in reigning Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon. 

Appearing in a new post-trade deadline episode of The Hoop Collective podcast, host Brian Windhorst speculated that Portland still seems to be weirdly, stubbornly clinging to at Brogdon (and Jerami Grant, whose bloated salary may have made him harder to deal) in the hopes of rebounding into competence next year.

“I actually think the Blazers are hoping, dare say, for a Rockets-like rebound, and I think they are hoping that next year they are competing for the playoffs,” Windhorst opined. “I think that’s one of the reasons why you didn’t see Jerami Grant or Malcolm Brogdon (traded). Jerami Grant’s name wasn’t out there for an iota, that I heard, and Brogdon’s name never got serious.”

Brogdon, who gets hurt with insane frequency, is already hurt again. Per the Trail Blazers' official X account, he's out for at least the next week, after undergoing treatment for right elbow tendinitis last weekend. He'll be reassessed, if not necessarily green lit to play, at that time.

The 6'4" Virginia product is on an expiring $22.5 million contract, and clearly Portland must be confident it can either extend him before the end of the year or re-sign him as a free agent. Otherwise, it just wasted a prime opportunity to restock its draft capital. Brogdon, 31, is averaging 15.7 points on a .440/.412/.819 slash line, plus 5.5 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 0.7 steals a night.

Last summer, Grant inked an insane five-year, $160 million deal to stay on a Trail Blazers squad that hadn't made the playoffs for two seasons. He's a solid two-way combo forward who can defend and score, but his sticker tag may have scared interested rivals.