Wednesday, diamond in the rough OKC Thunder center Branden Carlson opted to jump ship and ink a standard, one-year deal with up-and-coming conference rival, the Portland Trail Blazers.
The departure of the big man shouldn't come as all that great of a surprise, as he's been playing on a two-way deal for the majority of his tenure with the no-vacancy Thunder and, by all accounts, has proven himself more than worthy of a full-time deal in the association.
While the addition of his on-court talents may not widely be seen as being an immediate game-changer on their own for the Blazers, his presence certainly could, as he now, in theory, provides the club with a potential replacement option for promising pivot Donovan Clingan, who, as reports suggest, is viewed as a must-trade in any blockbuster move for coveted star Jaylen Brown.
Former Thunder big could allow Blazers to finally trade for Jaylen Brown
According to Heavy Sports' Sean Deveney, Portland is "the team now most closely linked to a Brown trade," and, should GM Brad Stevens ship his cornerstone out to Rip City, they "will want" the budding 22-year-old center back in the exchange.
Of course, considering he's only just coming off his second season with the club after being selected seventh overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, and after cementing himself as their starting pivot, it's easy to see why there's rumored reluctance for GM Joe Cronin to move on.
However, the re-signing of Robert Williams III and, now, the promise of Carlson may now ease up their hesitancy a tad.
The two could be seen as a real menacing center tandem for Portland, as the former is a tremendous defensive, rebounding, and overall nitty-gritty kind of frontcourt presence while the latter is a ready-made champion in this league who, this past season, saw averages of 9.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks on 52.2 percent shooting from the floor and 37.9 percent shooting from deep when logging double-digit minutes.
Carlson would also close out his final game with the Thunder with a truly historic 26-point, 10-rebound, five-block performance and registered averages of 14.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks on 54.9 percent shooting from the floor and 41.7 percent shooting from distance in the final month of seeing regular-season action.
Needless to say, the former Thunder big has clearly flashed enough potential to warrant a full-scale deal with the Blazers. Perhaps they would be interested in seeing what he could provide the team if he were to be unleashed, especially considering they also locked down the Timelord for the long term to potentially serve as their starting five.
After making it to their first playoff appearance since 2021 this past season, the Trail Blazers are seemingly hell-bent on taking another step forward in their ascension up the Western Conference totem pole.
With both Ja Morant and Damian Lillard in tow heading into 2026-27, Portland is eager to add a third star to the mix. Jaylen Brown is the guy they're looking to add to create the league's newest Big Three, and trading Clingan may be necessary to accomplish such a goal.
Carlson's arrival might have made such a move look a bit less daunting for Portland.
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