The Portland Trail Blazers have reportedly sent Kent Bazemore, Anthony Tolliver and two second-round picks to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for a pair of young big men and a veteran forward. According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, Portland will receive Trevor Ariza, Caleb Swanigan and second-year man Wenyen Gabriel in return. Swanigan will return to Portland after being selected by them in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft.
Kings sending Trevor Ariza, Caleb Swanigan, Wenyen Gabriel to Portland for Kent Bazemore, Anthony Tolliver, and Portland second-rounders in 2024, 2025, source tells @TheAthletic
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) January 18, 2020
Though this trade won’t shift much for these two teams, Kent Bazemore has made an impact as the starting small forward for the Portland Trail Blazers this season. Bazemore is playing out the last season of a 4-year, $70M deal he signed with Atlanta back in 2016 and is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
For Sacramento, they were also able to shed some cap with Trevor Ariza now headed to Portland. Ariza still has one more year left on his deal after inking a 2-year, $25M deal with Sacramento this past offseason. While Ariza has been known in the past as a valuable 3-and-D wing, the 34-year-old hasn’t played much of a role with Sacramento this season, averaging less than 25 minutes of playing time per game.
Along with Ariza, the Blazers will also receive big men Wenyen Gabriel and Caleb Swanigan. Swanigan played the first two seasons of his career with Portland after being drafted late in the first round in 2017. Swanigan was a promising talent coming out of Purdue but hasn’t quite lived up to expectations now three years into his professional career.
Additionally, though forward Wenyen Gabriel isn’t the biggest name either, he was also a marquee prospect during his high school days before playing two seasons with Kentucky. Gabriel went undrafted in 2018 and had appeared in 11 games for Sacramento so far this season.
Expect Bazemore to be a key contributor on the wing for the Kings the rest of the season before he hits free agency while Ariza could also be valuable for Portland if they end up making a far-fetched playoff push. With the Blazers’ starting small forward out of the picture, this deal could also open up more playing time for rookie first-round pick Nassir Little. The trade market will likely only heat up from here as we quickly approach the Feb. 6 deadline.
