Jabari Parker is reportedly on the trade block. Is he the piece that the Portland Trail Blazers have been looking for?

Jabari Parker has had an interesting journey in the NBA, thus far. He entered the league with sky-high expectations. In fact, Bleacher Report compared him to Carmelo Anthony and Paul Pierce before the 2014 NBA Draft. Parker was selected second overall by the Milwaukee Bucks. Unfortunately, Parker tore his ACL on 25 games into his rookie season.

The injury problems did not stop there. Parker never played a full season for the Bucks and appeared in only 31 games for them last season. On the court, Parker’s play was impressive. He even averaged 20.1 points per game on 49% shooting across 51 games during the 2016-17 season. His three-point percentage improved every year in Milwaukee, as well, culminating into his 38.3% mark last season.

Despite his encouraging play on the court, Milwaukee decided to let Parker walk in free agency. They were hesitant to commit long-term money to a player with his injury history, which makes a lot of sense.

Parker found his way back to his hometown of Chicago signing a two year deal with the Bulls worth $40 million this summer. It is worth noting that the second year of that deal is a team option, however, so the Bulls or the Blazers would not be on the hook to pay him $20 million next year.

The Bulls were taking a gamble hoping that Parker would finally live up to his draft status and become the go-to scorer that many thought he would be. 29 games into the season and the Bulls have already removed Parker from the rotation and are ready to move on. No, Parker is not Paul Pierce, but he is an efficient scorer who can help an offense. In Chicago, he still averaged 15.2 points per game, while shooting 45.5% from the field. So, should the Portland Trail Blazers take a gamble on him?