Portland Trail Blazers: Free agent forwards to consider
Neil Olshey, Portland Trail Blazers General Manager.
NBA Free agency is about to begin. Here are some cost-effective free agents who can help the Portland Trail Blazers in 2020-21.
In recent weeks, it happened in the NHL. It was supposed to happen in MLB. Now it’s the NBA’s turn to execute its own version of the free-agent frenzy. Where do the Portland Trail Blazers fit into the mix?
That depends. The Portland Trail Blazers are set at four of five starting positions, point guard Damian Lillard, shooting guard CJ McCollum, center Jusef Nurkic, and small forward Robert Covington. The first thing they need to do is assess how they feel about “power” forward Zach Collins who is recovering from an ankle injury. Is he the 3-and-D threat that earned him a 10th overall pick out of Gonzaga in 2017? Or is he an injury-prone big that will never be more than a seven-point, six-and-a-half rebound average role player who can knock down the occasional three-point shot? At this point, he looks more like choice B than choice A.
No matter what role the team sees Collins in, they are dreadfully thin in the frontcourt. The chances of Hassan Whiteside returning to Rip City in 2020-21 are very slim. It’s the same with Rodney Hood, who opted out of his $6M player option for the upcoming season. After Friday’s trade, that leaves only Enes Kanter and Nassir Little on the bench. Portland needs bodies up front.
Contrary to popular belief, the Portland Trail Blazers have some financial flexibility. Among the tools they have to work with are a $9.3M mid-level exception and a $3.6M bi-annual exemption. They can also use a $7.1M trade exception, meaning they can add that much salary by accepting a traded player. The last exemption puts “sign and trade” scenarios on the table.
What they can’t do is take on a big-money contract. Any dreams of signing Serge Ibaka, Anthony Davis, Danilo Gallinari, or Gordon Hayward as free agents are just that, dreams. In reality, Portland can add some very good players to a strong core and make a push to win a division title and push for the Western Conference top seed.