NBA Trade Rumors: 4 players the Portland Trail Blazers are targeting ahead of the deadline

The NBA trade deadline will close later this week ahead of the annual NBA All-Star Event in North Carolina. It will be the second season in which the deadline closes ahead of the All-Star game, as the deadline was moved forward in order to allow traded players to sort out arrangements for both themselves and their families.

Among the active teams as we head into the trade deadline are the Portland Trail Blazers. The team is looking to make a major playoff push in the Western Conference, and the Blazers are hoping to secure homecourt advantage for a second consecutive season.

The team is likely to add one or two players ahead of the deadline, and here we will look at four of the players that Portland are currently targeting.

#4 Taurean Prince

Taurean Prince was selected by the Utah Jazz with the 12th overall pick in the 2016 draft, and since joining the Hawks, Prince has developed into an effective small forward. So far this season, Prince is averaging 13.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, and Zach Buckley has suggested that the Hawks could make a move for the 24-year-old:

The Blazers don’t have the trade capital to snag a star (sorry, AD dreamers!), but putting their first-round pick in play might deliver a sizeable upgrade on the wing. Taurean Prince has a better combination of shooting, defending and creating than any you’ll find in Rip City.

A trade for Prince makes sense as the small forward is locked in a contract until 2021, and in that time, Prince's salary will only grow to $4.8 million per season. Ultimately, Prince is a player that can make an immediate impact, in addition to having room to develop into a better player.

#3 JaMychal Green and #2 Garrett Temple

The Memphis Grizzlies have recently fallen out of playoff contention, and the team's longtime duo of Marc Gasol and Mike Conley have been linked with a trade. Nevertheless, Sean Devaney is reporting that the Grizzlies are interested in a different duo on the Grizzlies roster:

The real market for members of the Grizzlies, league sources told Sporting News, is in other players on the roster, especially power forward JaMychal Green and guard Garrett Temple. Several teams this week have expressed interest in one or both players, including Portland and Charlotte.

Both Green and Temple will become unrestricted free agents in the summer, and the duo would undoubtedly be an upgrade over the majority of Portland's current reserve options. So far this season, Green is averaging 10.1 points and 6.3 rebounds, while Temple has managed 9.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.

#1 Jeremy Lin

Despite being limited to a reserve role with the Atlanta Hawks this season, Jeremy Lin has been impressive and Sporting News is reporting that the Blazers are interested in the point guard:

Sources tell SN that they (Portland) have expressed interest in another player expected to be made available for a first-round pick: Atlanta point guard Jeremy Lin. When the Hawks traded for Lin last summer, the hope was that he could be a veteran presence for the first part of the season for young point guard Trae Young, then could be swapped for a rebuilding asset to help the woebegone Hawks’ future. A first-rounder would do the trick.

Lin is likely to be dealt ahead of the deadline as Atlanta are out of the playoff race, and Lin will also become an unrestricted free agent in the summer. The 30-year-old would provide a big boost to Portland's bench, and the Hawks may be willing to lower their trade demands as we approach the deadline.