The Trail Blazers Struck Gold With Deni Avdija...

The Portland Trail Blazers made one of the most interesting moves on draft day, trading Malcolm Brogdon, the 14th pick, and a future first to Washington in exchange for Deni Avdija. Some people online seemed upset by this, as if Portland gave up too much, but it’s hard for me to oversell how fantastic of a deal this was for the Blazers. I haven’t loved every move that Joe Cronin has made, but this is undeniably a good one. Brogdon is a solid player, but at 31 years old, he clearly doesn’t match the rebuilding timeline for Portland. On top of that, he played just 39 games last season and clearly has some concerning injury history playing 56 games or less in 5 of his 8 seasons as a pro. I also don’t mind throwing in 14, sure it’s a lottery pick but late lottery guys often don’t pan out, and in a draft that was considered pretty weak, who really cares. If Bub Carrington looks like a star point guard for the Wizards then this will age somewhat poorly, but at the moment I’m not too worried about it. So in exchange for a player that didn’t fit and an unguaranteed prospect, they get a do-it-all wing who’s on arguably the most team friendly contract in the entire NBA. His 4-year, $55 million extension is drastically below the value he provides on the court. After the all-star break this season, Avidja averaged 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists per game while shooting 48% from the floor. He’s not quite all-defense team level, but he is a very good defender, and will likely be Portland’s best defender the moment he steps on the floor. I think he has 20 and 10 upside, which will make him a very good starting forward for Portland for many years to come. His arrival also likely makes a player like Jerami Grant more expendable, and they could move off of his $32 million annually contract. Avdija slides right into a promising young core for the Blazers, that features guards Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson, as well as bigs including DeAndre Ayton and the number 7 overall pick Donovan Clingan. I love this deal for Portland, and for this first time in what feels like forever, the Blazers have a good young forward that they can have as art of their core moving forward. The Wizards likely did this move in an effort to tank for another season, as Avdija would make them too good, but I’m shocked at their willingness to move off a talent like this. The Trail Blazers struck gold with Deni Avdija.
Think about subbing, I'm on the road to 14k!!!
#deniavdija #portlandtrailblazers #washingtonwizards

[@rosecityusa6120]

Lez gooo! WelcomeTo Rip City Deni‼️ 🇮🇱🇺🇲 Great video as usual Herm. 'Preciate your work man. Outstanding insight always.🤟🏽

[@or2ak]

LOL

[@ACD1994]

I hate being a Washington Wizards fan. Going to miss Deni in D.C. 😥

[@pearsonw3]

@@ACD1994 We needed the picks. Deni wasn’t going to help us win anytime soon. He’s a role player. It was time to get rid of Ernie and Tommy’s players.

[@ACD1994]

@@pearsonw3 He was one of the few players that actually had potential. I understand it's business just, it's sad that he will go on to become a greater player than he already is imo some where else.

[@pearsonw3]

@@ACD1994 He’ll probably be over 30 years old by the time we can actually compete for a championship.

[@ACD1994]

@@pearsonw3 I don't think they will compete for a championship until Ted Leonsis sells the team.

[@amirgal9567]

Avdija is a warrior, hes gonna be a beast for Portland

[@desdichado3308]

Actually he was a Wizard and now he's a Traiblazer. Golden State wish they had him as a Warrior. 😉

[@CruiseDude1]

My take on Deni as a die-hard Wizards fan. Brilliant all-around playmaker, physical, tough, creative, hard-working, always improving and a very funny guy. He makes everyone on the team better. Interesting background with a Muslim father and Jewish mother and everyone loves Deni. He's going to get a standing ovation when he returns to DC. Good luck, Deni!

[@scoa]

Thank you for this. I've been surprised how many negative perceptions there have been in different Blazers forums and groups about this trade. My take is the same as yours- this was an absolute genius move on Portland's part, and I can't believe they managed to get Deni without loosing much of anything.

[@crazekananas]

Many in blazers media criticized anyone who suggested Brogdon's trade value was tanking the longer he stayed. They all look stupid now and are lashing out with crazy takes.

[@guidonagle5075]

I haven't seen anything negative from Blazerland, other than the price for the trade was high, but deals like this are why you accumulate that draft capital. Looking at Wizards posters on KZbin, the comments are being flooded by excited Blazer fans (like me). Alot of Wizards fans seem puzzled and pissed that the team made this deal.

[@seventyfive7597]

Deni is *_AMAZING,_* but to max Deni you need a pass first offense where his unselfishness shines in hockey assists and playmaking, but current PDX players don't have it. He's also a greatslasher, but we don't have spacing. PDX struck gold, but to extract it we need reasonable system passers and reasonable shooters. *_We need trades_*

[@brianscharbrough654]

Scoots a very unselfish play and Clingan is a good passer as well so is Sharpe. Simon’s and Grant the only ball hogs and they aren’t part of the future anyway.

[@tonyreyes6610]

@@brianscharbrough654yea just waiting to see if grant is in trade talks as well as Ayton they won’t help the team with their limited spacing

[@HefHoffa]

I totally agree the whole give Anfernee and Jerami the ball and move out of the way thing isn’t going to work out

[@DJM3KS]

​@@tonyreyes6610Grant spaces what u talking bout

[@jacobsaki399]

I would like to make a comment about Deni, he is a basketball engineer, multi roll player, and he play for the team, regardless how many point he is doing, for hem the team are number one priority, and that is the fact.

[@pinkdifferent5533]

Deni Avdija is best as a point forward. he played PG at high-school. they've changed his role from SF to point forward after the TDL and his numbers went to 20ppg 6apg 8rpg at that part of the season. ending with 15 6 4 the all season. True shooting 60%.

[@user-nz3em4ks3u]

What is known is that tens of thousands of Danny Avdia fans from Israel move to support Portland. Good luck Danny. with you everywhere.❤❤❤❤

[@netanell4315]

Deni is elite defender!!

[@richierich8679]

I'm a Blazer fan and I'm ecstatic with this trade!

[@asafzilberberg6648]

Great player - could be very good with Scoot Henderson.

[@Imaf2020]

Good breakdown - I was initially in the "Blazers overpaid" camp - but this video is reassuring. I was already subbed.

[@santaclause3487]

Blazers fleeced wizards. Avdija had a great year, and lots of room for improvement.

[@pdxgolfpro]

I agree Avdija will likely be one of the better defenders on the Blazers next year. But let me make one thing perfectly clear, Toumani Camara was the best defender by every metric last year on the Blazers and other than Wemby could be considered the best Defensive rookie in his class. He is the best on ball defender the Blazers have.

[@seventyfive7597]

Nice analysis, the wizards actually traded their only high IQ player for a bunch of high risk low reward future gambles, PDX won it, A+ trade

[@pearsonw3]

As a Wizards fan, I’m happy to take your picks. Deni will never be a superstar. He’s a decent rotational player on a good team. Wizards fans were upset we traded him until we saw y’all gave us two 1st round picks. We didn’t even get a 1st round pick for Beal

[@itswaxfps2955]

@@pearsonw3 lmao as a wizards fan i was about to type this. overrated.

[@Tone22845]

​@@pearsonw3its not guaranteed but you can't someone that's 23 & getting better won't be a star.

[@modax0]

As a Poole fan girl you mean.

[@pearsonw3]

@@Tone22845 I think when a guy has star potential, you see glimpses of it while they’re growing. Deni is 23 but on his 2nd contract and has only one season scoring over 10ppg. He’s a good player, and he’s best playing point guard. I wonder how that will work with Scoot.

[@brandonmoskos9149]

Deni is a beast.

[@mangamer2818]

glad that you also thought that they traded him in order to tank another year, because the 2025 draft is supposed to be a strong one.

[@bigherm24]

Yeah Flagg, Bailey, Harper and VJ at the top is much more impressive than most years

[@yonakopolovich333]

amazing player congrats🎉

[@BiggidyB]

Portland won big time, Deni should’ve been an untouchable for Wizards

[@LunaticTheCat]

One thing you forgot is the 2029 2nd most favorable 1st, but even with that, this is still a fantastic trade for Portland.

[@lylewalker5681]

There goes the tank for Flagg thing, probably.

[@EmphasisOnJ]

Be well herm

[@wrayven]

The Blazers were in a proverbial rock & a hard place. This move makes the Damian Lillard trade look even weirder than it was as the Blazers ended up trading a good portion of the haul from the Lillard trade to cut costs to stay under the luxury tax(both 1st round draft picks & Brogdan came as a result of the Lillard/Holiday moves). Avdjia does look to be an interesting player. Ultimately the team traded Lillard for 2-3 pick swaps, Avdjia & Robert Williams. We'll see if those pick swaps become anything in 4-6 years, and if Williams is moved with another Blazers for more assets.

[@bigherm24]

You forgot DeAndre Ayton, who’s really the biggest piece they got back for Dame

[@wrayven]

@@bigherm24 I stand corrected, but adding Ayton to the mix still seems like a lame haul. I guess I wanted to forget how bad that trade ultimately was. Boston is the only team that won. Jody Allen's tenure as Blazers owner has been frustrating. I wish she would sell the team as her brother's will stipulated.

[@wildrage9831]

@@wrayven as a seahawks and blazers fan we all want her gone

[@brianscharbrough654]

@@wrayvenBro those other picks we got are still super valuable for future trades we still have Rob Williams to trade and other pieces to move around as well. We are in a great position and the Dame trade was the best for both parties. We’re way better off than we were with Dame.

[@fredkuo5017]

Deni is amazing, he is even younger than the 7th pick. He feels like an upgraded version of Rudy Hernandez. Go RIP City!

[@bigherm24]

He’s actually three years older than Clingan but still a young guy at 23

[@pdxgolfpro]

Let's be real about Brogden's injuries. He may have had some legitimate injuries last year, but he could have come back at the end of the year for the last 20 games or so and Portland shut him down for the Tank. And so he wouldn't get injured again for trade purposes. This was true of other Vets like Jeremy Grant and Anfernee Simons as well.

[@tedcalouri2694]

Brogdon cuts himself shaving = 2 weeks on injured list on tanking PDX team. "Injury limited" while technically accurate with respect to his tenure in Portland should not be confused with injury prone. I hope the Blazer's front office learns from this experience. Holding players back for exaggerated injuries limits their value as a trade asset. I would much rather they let guys play even if they are limited minutes. In a rebuilding year fans want the young guys to get the minutes anyway but your tradable vets that aren't part of the long term picture still need to be on the court to demonstrate their per 36 minutes stats and to show they are not injury risks.

[@42tribes]

Since he's from Israel and he's a Trail Blazer, can we call him the North Star?

[@LucianConnally]

Will you explain this nickname? How did you come up with it?

[@brutusvonmanhammer]

How bout the *Star of Deni?*

[@brutusvonmanhammer]

@@nsk6221 I think the reference flew way over your head, bruh

[@LucianConnally]

@@brutusvonmanhammerhaha we gotta stop. Think Chauncey will implement a double triangle offense this year?

[@brutusvonmanhammer]

@LucianConnally Lmfao...I dunno about the offense, but I'm waiting for the Iron Dome defense

[@DerekLemmon]

I'm surprised no one is talking about the minutes Portland is trying to open up for Banton (or even that he's a big part of their rotation next year)

[@user-pv5hu4gr2s]

good luck

[@allegedly6]

He's Herm

[@bigherm24]

I’m Herm

[@BAGUETTEO8]

W vid

[@bigherm24]

Appreciate you

[@jonmikolrosario]

Brogdon has been getting passed around 😆

[@CruiseDude1]

Silly to declare a winner -The Wizards rebuilding to the studs with 20yr old + under guys w/ high ceilings. Surprised presenter went on about Malcolm Brogdon without mentioning the obvious point - Wiz will trade him for add'l pick (s). We'll know more YEARS from now depending on Carrington, George, two 2nds and whatever they get for Brogdon. Obviously!

[@Ryan-wx1bi]

Carrington already looks worth it

[@CruiseDude1]

​​@@Ryan-wx1biBub is bubbling over with starpower

[@TheRealSuperYonin]

He is cheap compared to brogdon plus young fit the timeline of the blazers young core

[@19bendunk]

Mo Wagner, and cade Cunningham just got 220 mil , are they much better than deni? I don't think so

[@etastic7711]

Nice breakdown of the trade but Toumani Camara is certainly Portlands best defender no matter what.

[@paulrobinson2999]

Nope he gonna give you the same type of play he gave in Washington up and down consistency he might have a hot game the next night 2 points and 4 rebounds i know im a wizards fan

[@YanivTzach189]

Let’s go Portland … 🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱

[@MichaelBogdon]

As a wizards fa dont mean to burst the blazers bubble, but Deni aint it. He could be a good role player. Bit u guys are rebuilding like us. For one, hes to slow and slows down the offense, and hes soft as hell. Plays good defense because of his height, stays in front of the player hes defending i think thats his best attribute. But for the blazers to give away their 14th pick for Deni, and this video is praising the decision is crazy to me. You can find another deni with higher up side

[@Ryan-wx1bi]

Just let em be delusional and then later in the season we can come back and let them know. Especially if Bub ends up being solid

[@Louiecat178]

I hate they gave up too much to get him! The Blazers built up a lot of picks from big deals only to throw them all the way for him and in this draft! What a joke...

[@Fox250R]

55mill isn't considered a lot? LOL The NBA is a joke

[@bigherm24]

@@Fox250R that’s not annual. It’s roughly $14M a year. Average to good starters always command over 20M. Why does that make it a joke? Would you rather the owners get all the money instead of the players getting a fair cut?

[@Fox250R]

@@bigherm24Exactly why tickets cost 200 for crap seats. NBA is a joke

[@irightus]

Toumani way better defender

[@lylewalker5681]

Toumani is trade bait at this point, tbh.

[@MacSavage503]

Trash poor mans Rudy Fernandez, and Rudy was trash too

[@rich6776]

I got 100 dollars that says he doesn't even start.

[@bigherm24]

That’s literally you giving away free money

[@chrisschaeffer9661]

Gotch

[@seventyfive7597]

In my country gambling's illegal, but I'll travel to the states if you bet the plane ticket cost as well :)

[@TheBarbahaba]

i'll take that bet

[@modax0]

Is that some kind of a joke? He's #1 option rn