The 2020 NBA Trade Deadline has passed and the Portland Trail Blazers spent it largely inactive. They remained satisfied with trading Kent Bazemore and Anthony Tolliver for Trevor Ariza weeks earlier, augmenting that move by dumping the salary of Skal Labissiere for a low second-round pick.
Plenty of folks have written into the Mailbag asking questions before, during, and after the event. Here’s an omnibus analysis/review to address the most common queries.
The purpose was financial. Like the trade for Ariza, this move reduced Portland’s salary obligation for the rest of the year.