Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, and Toronto Raptors Off-Season Preview

Portland Trail Blazers:

Under Contract:

• Deandre Ayton: 2 Years Left – $69.56M (4 Years – $132.93M), Extension Eligible
• Jerami Grant: 4 Years Left – $132.41M (5 Years – $160M), Last Year is Player Option
• Anfernee Simons: 2 Years Left – $53.57M (4 Years – $100M), Extension Eligible
• Malcolm Brogdon: 1 Year Left – $22.5M (2 Years – $45M), Extension Eligible
• Robert Williams III: 2 Years Left – $25.71M (4 Years – $48M), Extension Eligible
• Matisse Thybulle: 2 Years Left – $22.58M (3 Years – $33.08M), Last Year is Player Option
• Scoot Henderson: 3 Years Left – $34.59M (4 Years – $44.36M, Rookie Contract), Last 2 Years are Team Options
• Shaedon Sharpe: 2 Years Left – $15.01M (4 Years – $27.34M, Rookie Contract), Last Year is Team Option
• Kris Murray: 3 Years Left – $11.44M (4 Years – $14.28M, Rookie Contract), Last 2 Years are Team Options
• Duop Reath: 2 Years Left – $4.27M (3 Years – $6.22M)
• Jabari Walker: 1 Year Left – $2.02M (3 Years – $4.76M), Non-Guaranteed, Extension Eligible
• Toumani Camara: 3 Years Left – $6.52M (4 Years – $7.64M), Non-Guaranteed
• Rayan Rupert: 2 Years Left – $4.11M (3 Years – $5.23M), Last Year is Team Option

Options:

• Delano Banton: Team Option – $2.2M

Free Agents:

• Moses Brown (UFA)

Draft Picks:

• 7th Pick
• 14th Pick
• 34th Pick (From CHA)
• 40th Pick (From ATL)

Cap Space:

• Projected Maximum Cap Space: $33M+ over the cap

Top Priorities/Team Needs:

• Build around Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe: These two guys have only played in a handful of games together due to injury, but theoretically they would form a potent backcourt duo. They are very young, have the most potential on this team and should be the backcourt of the future.
• Is Anfernee Simons a core player of the future?: While Simons is currently the Trail Blazer’s best player, he is also 4-5 years older than Scoot and Sharpe. So, the front office and coaching staff need to figure out if he fits with the timeline, especially with the crowded backcourt. This question doesn’t need to be answered right away, but with 2 years left on his contract, they need to figure this out by next off-season. He’s on a valuable contract, so they could explore trade options and see what assets they can get in return.
• Is Deandre Ayton the long-term answer at center?: Ayton is only 25 years old with 2 years left on his contract. This question doesn’t need to be answered this offseason, but the front office needs to at least start thinking about it. Since they don’t have a young core player at center, it might be beneficial to keep him on this roster for at least another year to help with Scoot’s development as they have become a good pick-and-roll duo.
• Explore trades for Malcolm Brogdon, Matisse Thybulle, Robert Williams III, and Jerami Grant: The Trail Blazers are over the cap, and don’t have much flexibility with their roster over the next 2 seasons without trading some of these players. All of these players are on good contracts, so they should be able to get valuable draft assets in return. The only concern is if teams would be willing to risk trading for Williams or Brogdon due to their injury history.
• Young wings/forwards to add to the young core: This team already has their starting backcourt with Scoot, Sharpe, and/or Simons, as well as center depth with Ayton, Williams, and Reath. Therefore, it wouldn’t be logical for the Trail Blazers to draft players at that position with their 2 lottery picks. They need to add wings/forwards in the draft to add to this young core to develop alongside Scoot and Sharpe.
• Defense and Shooting: This year, they were one of the worst shooting teams in the league and had the fewest assists per game. They need to add players who can space the floor and hit shots. This would help create open lanes for Scoot and help develop his playmaking abilities. They were also a bottom 10 defensive team, so adding players with defensive ability and upside would massively improve this team.

Draft Fits:

• 7th Pick:
  • Dalton Knecht
  • Cody Williams
  • Tidjane Salaun
• 14th Pick:
  
  • Kyle Filipowski
  • Johnny Furphy
  • Tyler Smith
• 34th Pick:
  • Bobi Klintman
  • Melvin Ajinca
  • Harrison Ingram
• 40th Pick:
  • Justin Edwards
  • Jonathan Mogbo
  • Ulrich Chomche

Free Agent Fits:

• There is no cap space or roster spots available to sign free agents this off-season.