Oklahoma City Thunder Reportedly Trade Eric Maynor to Portland Trail Blazers

With just minutes remaining before the NBA trade deadline, the Oklahoma City Thunder reportedly dealt backup point guard Eric Maynor to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for a draft pick.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported the news via Twitter, with Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski detailing what the Blazers are rumored to be giving up:

"

The Blazers will use an exception to take Eric Maynor, likely sending a pick to OKC.

— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) February 21, 2013"

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Blazers will send the draft rights of Giorgio Printezis to the Thunder as part of the Eric Maynor deal, source tells Y!

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 21, 2013"

Maynor is in his fourth season in the NBA and is currently on pace for career lows in points, assists and minutes played after losing the backup point guard position to Reggie Jackson in Oklahoma City. In Portland, he will likely be Damian Lillard's backup.  

He was a star during his collegiate career at VCU and was taken in the first round of the 2009 draft by the Utah Jazz. During his rookie season, he was traded to OKC.

After joining the young Thunder squad, he took on the role of Russell Westbrook’s understudy and averaged 4.2 points and 2.9 assists in 14.6 minutes per night during the 2010-11 season. A torn ACL kept him out of all but nine games last year.

While Maynor was out with an injury, Jackson—the Thunder’s 2011 first-round pick out of Boston College—proved capable of being Westbrook’s backup. The two young floor generals have been sharing time this year, with Jackson averaging 11.8 minutes each game this season, and Maynor logging 10.6 minutes per night.

If the move is finalized, it will continue a trend from general manager Sam Presti. He showed once again that he is ready to part ways with young players to stockpile draft picks and maintain roster flexibility.

The early-season blockbuster that sent James Harden to the Houston Rockets was the clearest example of Presti's unwillingness to bog down his franchise with large contracts. This trade is nowhere close to the magnitude of the GM’s previous deal, but for the small-market teams, every move counts.