The Portland Trail Blazers find themselves at a strange transitional moment in their history.

After going 21-61 last season during their first deliberate full-season tank of the Chauncey Billups era, Portland is clearly looking to flip some or all of its pricey veterans while it resets around a younger, less proven core. The goal needs to be accruing as many lottery assets and intriguing young players on affordable deals as possible, not preserving expensive players with understood ceilings.

One of the more seasoned Blazers who could find himself on the move via trade sooner rather than later is starting center Deandre Ayton, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.

“At some point, the Blazers and Ayton are expected to part ways, sources said, yet the former first overall pick doesn’t command a market at this time,” Siegel writes.

The 7-foot center was acquired by the Trail Blazers last summer as the biggest returning asset in Portland’s three-team deal to accomodate All-Star point guard Damian Lillard’s trade request. Lillard was offloaded to the Milwaukee Bucks, while Ayton was shipped to the Trail Blazers by the Phoenix Suns, just five years after they had selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. Ayton may not be nearly as good as several of the lottery players selected below him. All-NBA guards Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, Shai Gilgeous Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks were all selected below Ayton, as was 2023 Defensive Player of the Year power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. Eventual All-NBA Second Team New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson was drafted by Dallas with the No. 33 pick in the second round. It was, clearly, an eventful draft for the Mavericks.

Ayton has had some solid moments, peaking with his role as essentially the fourth-best player on a 2021 NBA Finals-bound Phoenix squad anchored by All-Star guards Chris Paul and Devin Booker, and supplemented by two-way wings Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson. But Ayton didn’t show much growth upon arriving in Portland. The 26-year-old is owed $69.6 million across the next two seasons of his current deal.

Sources tell Siegel that Portland still appreciates Ayton’s fit as an experienced leader for the squad, and may look to hold on to him for now. How much sense that makes when he is earning quite so much money and the team has three other rotation-caliber centers rostered (rookie lottery pick Donovan Clingan, 2023 All-Defensive Teamer Robert Williams III, and second-year reserve Duop Reath) remains to be seen.

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