If your team is looking for a some defensive help on the wing at the NBA Trade Deadline, there are plenty of pieces available.
For teams with championship aspirations, the NBA Trade Deadline is one of the last opportunities to fill those weak spots on the roster. With the league loaded with perimeter scorers, having a few stoppers on the wing is essential.
If your team is looking for a wing defender, here are a few who could be available.
5. Al-Farouq Aminu and Maurice Harkless
The Portland Trail Blazers are at a crossroads, and their decisions this February, June and July will control the direction of the franchise into the next several seasons. Last weekend’s trade to acquire Jusuf Nurkic and a first-round draft pick were a nice first step, but trading two regressors from last season would be a sensical next step.
Last season, Aminu and Harkless combined to swallow teams with defensive length and shoot just well enough to give the guards space to create on offense. Passers at both guard spots and center meant that simply leaving these two in the corner or cutting through screens was enough as a tertiary offensive option across from CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard. Their real value, however, lied in their defense. These are two tall, long, bulky defenders who can switch across positions and challenge simple offensive sets easily.
The floor has fallen out for Aminu, who is shooting 37 percent from the field this season. However, he is one of the only players on this team with a positive Defensive Box Plus-Minus, impressive because Aminu has been able to provide box score value to a defense giving up 112 points per 100 possessions. Harkless, on the other hand, has maintained a little better offensively while grading slightly worse as a defender.
Acquiring either of these players would be a boon, and it seems legitimately possible based on Portland’s activity already and their struggles this season. Even if they earn the eighth seed, that is a step back, and the signs of regression appear stronger than those that pushed them to the fifth seed last year. Aminu and Harkless are two players Portland could see as disposable, and therefore another team could truly benefit from keeping on the phones.