NBA Rumors: Portland Trail Blazers Shopping Jusuf Nurkic, Robert Covington

With the trade rumors flying around Portland mostly regarding superstar Damian Lillard or fellow All-Star C.J McCollum, a pair of lesser-known names are apparently being shopped according to Jake Fischer.

The Portland Trail Blazers are expected to primarily gauge trade interest in Nurkic and Covington, but Larry Nance Jr. seems to be a target among rival front offices.

With the Blazers sitting at 11-17 on the season, in 11th place in a competitive Western Conference, and with CJ McCollum still out indefinitely with a lung issue, it is unlikely that any move that Portland makes will turn this team into a contender overnight - or even a playoff team. Perhaps looking beyond this season, both Covington and Nurkic are in the final year of their deal, and if interim General Manager Joe Cronin and the rest of the front office don't plan on bringing them back, the smart move is to make a trade and get some assets to assist the team in the future. If they can pull off a trade that does just that while retaining salary cap space going into a potential make-or-break summer for the Trailblazers and the future of Damian Lillard, then expect Cronin to shake that interim title.

Larry Nance Jr. was also mentioned in the report, although it is said that the Trailblazers would prefer to keep Nance, and head coach Chauncey Billups has replaced Covington in the starting lineup for the past couple of games. Either way, it seems very likely that a trade will be made involving the Portland Trailblazers sooner rather than later.