Playing Fact or Fiction with Monday Night's NBA Trade Rumors

Thanks to the emergence of Rookie of the Year front-runner Damian Lillard and another All-Star season from LaMarcus Aldridge, the Portland Trail Blazers are once again a playoff contender in the West.

But a recent five-game skid has them sitting on the outside looking in, and an encouraging effort of late from the Los Angeles Lakers threatens to slide Portland further down the conference ladder.

As talented as the Portland starters are, its bench is equally horrific. That's led to Portland gauging interest for their starting center, J.J. Hickson:

This isn't a bad strategy for Portland GM Neil Olshey?on paper.

In reality, though, the expected losses in a potential Hickson deal far outweigh the gains.

For starters, one would assume the trade would not be for an upgrade at the center position, but rather multiple pieces to shore up that second unit. While Hickson has put forth a respectable season (12.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game), he's not likely to bring back massive improvements over those already on Portland's woeful bench.

And if Portland fails to replace Hickson in a trade, it's putting a lot of pressure on the shoulders of rookie Meyers Leonard. Maybe Leonard is a beast on the practice floor, because his 14.8 minutes per game has not shown near enough to comfortably assume that he's up for a dramatic increase in responsibility.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1534760-playing-fact-or-fiction-with-monday-nights-nba-trade-rumors

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