MAYNOR MOVES FROM THUNDER TO BLAZERS
The Portland Trail Blazers acquired point guard Eric Maynor from the Oklahoma City Thunder for the rights to forward Giorgos Printezis and a trade exception worth $2.2 million.
What does it give the Portland Trail Blazers
Maynor is a definite talent who gets a fresh start in Portland after falling down the Thunder's depth chart. He also comes with an expiring contract, so if Maynor doesn't fit in he can be let go after this season. The Blazers have a glut of players at point guard (and rookie {P Damian Lillard} plays most of the minutes), so it may be an uphill climb for Maynor to get things back on track with Portland. That said, they've already waived backup PG {P Ronnie Price}, so Maynor may see chances early.
What does it give the Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder used a first-round pick on talented Maynor back in 2009 (No. 20 overall), and he's one of the few draft picks GM Sam Presti has made who didn't pan out. Maynor's significant knee injury last year saw him fall behind {P Reggie Jackson} as the Thunder's top backup point guard, so moving him here not only makes sense financially, it opens up the roster spot the team has already used to add swingman {P Ronnie Brewer}. They also can use the trade exception if needed, to add a player over the next year (with a salary up to $2.2 million) without having to lose a player of equal value. If Printezis ever decides to play in the NBA, the Thunder will get a very athletic big forward with a still-improving game.
Fantasy impact
Maynor has a good chance to push for the backup point guard duties on the Blazers, but that may not mean much since Portland's starting five plays huge minutes. For the Thunder, this opens up the roster spot and cash needed to add Brewer, who now has some deep sleeper potential as a rotation reserve on a very good team. Printezis is one of the better players in Greece and has an NBA-style game (and he was named Greek League Most Improved Player last year) but he's 27 and it's anyone's guess when he might give North America a try; his NBA rights have been traded five times now.
