Thu, Feb 19, 2015 at 2:01pm

BLAZERS BOOST BENCH WITH AFFLALO IN 5-PLAYER SWAP

The Portland Trail Blazers acquired shooting guard Arron Afflalo and swingman Alonzo Gee from the Denver Nuggets for a lottery-protected first-round draft pick in 2016, a future second-round pick, power forward-center Thomas Robinson, swingman Will Barton, and small forward Victor Claver.

What does it give the Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers are a legitimate NBA title contender this season, and Afflalo immediately gives them important depth. Few teams lean on their starting fives as much as Portland does, but bench scoring is a sore point. Afflalo can provide that, and is a perfect fit for a selfless Blazers squad. Gee probably isn't likely to play much (if he's kept around) but again, Portland doesn't use its bench as much as other teams. Nice move by a team with title hopes.

What does it give the Denver Nuggets
It's clear the deep-but-dysfunctional Nuggets are trying to clarify their roster, and moving Afflalo makes sense. Even with Afflalo gone, Denver still has a glut of scoring wing players and moving him should help clarify the pecking order somewhat. Meanwhile the draft picks should help with the ongoing re-tooling. All three of newcomers Robinson, Barton, and Claver will be free agents after this season, so this move gives Denver significant cap space options to restructure in the off-season.

Fantasy impact
Afflalo's fantasy value takes a dip heading from Denver (where he was a starter) to Portland (where he'll likely be a sixth man). That said, he should still be a solid scorer with his new team. It's unlikely his arrival alters the fantasy fortunes of any of the Blazers' starting five, and few of their bench players have much fantasy appeal as it is. On the Denver side of things, Robinson may see a minor boost in playing time, but Barton and Claver remain fantasy-irrelevant. Meanwhile, the departure of Afflalo probably helps Jameer Nelson and Randy Foye improve statistically (but probably not much).