2 players Blazers must trade to help take next step in playoffs after loss to Spurs

Story by

Bailey Bassett, ClutchPoints

Thu, April 30, 2026 at 7:20 PM UTC ·

4 min read

2 players Blazers must trade to help take next step in playoffs after loss to Spurs appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

The 2025-26 season served as a breakout year for the Portland Trail Blazers . The team made the playoffs and held their own against the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. While the series against San Antonio ended in five games , the Trail Blazers were up big at one point or another in multiple games against the Spurs, and they proved that they could be threats for years to come.

Portland’s roster combines youth, depth, veteran leadership, and star power. Scoot Henderson , Yang Hansen , and Donovan Clingan are some of the youngsters that they expect to get better, and Deni Avdija established himself as one of the best players in basketball this year. The draft and free agency are still a ways away, but the Trail Blazers can already bank on being better next year because Damian Lillard will be making his return from an achilles injury.

The team still has a few steps to take to be considered genuine contenders, though. Who might need to be traded for the Trail Blazers to take the next step forward?

Kris Murray could be packaged in a bigger trade

The Trail Blazers don’t need to pursue a trade involving Kris Murray, but he is somebody the team could use as trade bait to try to land an upgrade this offseason. Murray is just 25 years old and will be under contract for just over $5 million next season. He is a low-maintenance player who doesn’t require a big usage rate on offense.

Murray plays hard on defense and does a lot of the intangibles. For a team looking to add depth, Murray can be an intriguing get in a trade because he can fill rotation minutes but won’t force a team into changing their identity or schemes. From the Trail Blazers’ perspective, though, Murray hasn’t quite lived up to his draft billing as a first-round pick from the 2023 class.

Unlike his twin brother, Keegan Murray , who plays for the Sacramento Kings , Kris has really struggled to knock down 3-point shots. He is a career 25.9% shooter from beyond the arc. Portland’s biggest weakness as a team is 3-point shooting. Their 34.3% mark from deep this year ranked just 28th in the league. The team needs to get better from 3-point land, and moving on from Murray may allow them to do so.

The Iowa product started to see less and less court time throughout the season anyway. Murray played just 25 minutes in total in the playoffs after averaging 23.4 minutes per game in the regular season. He started games in the middle of the season but was reduced to a reserve role later on, and the 5.8 points per game he put up wouldn’t kill the team to lose. Again, keeping Murray as a depth piece wouldn’t hurt because he is young and cheap, but he isn’t a great fit on a team full of slashers, so the Trail Blazers should be willing to move on if there is a trade that could include him.

Jrue Holiday may become expendable

The Trail Blazers traded for Jrue Holiday ahead of last season. The deal made a lot of sense at the time, and it clearly helped them get to the next stage in their development as a team. Holiday is a veteran leader and one of the best defensive guards in NBA history . In theory, he is a perfect backcourt partner for the emerging Scoot Henderson and/or the eventual return of Damian Lillard.

However, Holiday’s calling card, his point-of-attack defense, has started to slip as he has gotten older. That could result in Holiday’s contract looking really ugly in a couple of years, as he has a player option for nearly $40 million in 2027-28. The Trail Blazers might want to trade him while his value is still high. The guard is just a couple of months away from turning 36 years old.

Trading Holiday would not only get Portland off of his contract and allow the team to allocate their finances elsewhere, but freeing up his minutes could prove to be a necessity. The team hopes that Lillard will return to his All-Star ways and that Henderson will develop into a star in his own right. With Shaedon Sharpe needing guard minutes, too, the Trail Blazers may end up with somewhat of a logjam in the backcourt next season.

Holiday’s veteran leadership will still be valued if the Trail Blazers decide to keep him, but the all-time great defender seems like one of the most likely candidates to be traded from Portland this offseason.