The Blazers have told Thomas Robinson that they won’t exercise their fourth-year team option on his rookie scale contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Robinson has been set to make more than $4.66MM in 2015/16 if the Blazers picked up the final year of his deal, but he’ll instead hit unrestricted free agency this summer, with the Blazers unable to pay him more than the amount of his option to retain him. The same would hold true for any team that would acquire him via trade this season.
Robinson has had a difficult adjustment to the NBA after the Kings made him the fifth overall pick in 2012. Sacramento shipped him to Houston in the middle of his rookie season, and the Rockets sent him along to Portland the following summer to clear cap space for Dwight Howard. Robinson saw fewer minutes per game in Portland than he did in either of his other stops, making it in for only 12.5 MPG this past season.
Portland only has about $17.4MM in commitments for 2015/16, so the Blazers would have plenty of room to accommodate Robinson’s option if they changed their minds. Still, LaMarcus Aldridge is poised to command a max deal in free agency this summer, and Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez are set to become free agents, too.