Trade & FA 2024-25:

[mvossman]

If that trade would have gone through, Portis would be here instead of PJ. No knock-on PJ, but I'd rather have Portis who's bigger and a better shooter.

Man, I don't think Portis would have had nearly the defensive impact that PJ has.  I can see the argument that Portis + holding onto the first is better than PJ (assuming that was the deal) but its hard to imagine Portis would have fit as well as PJ has.  That being said, Portis as a backup 4/5 would make a lot of sense on this team.  He is an obvious replacement for Maxi, but could even take on Gafford role if necessary.