After an unexpected second-round playoff run a year ago, the Trail Blazers underwhelmed in 2016/17, sneaking into the playoffs as a No. 8 seed and failing to win a single postseason game. The Blazers did unearth a gem when they acquired Jusuf Nurkic in a February trade, but the team’s cap situation will make it very difficult for the front office to make major upgrades to the roster this summer.
Here’s where things currently stand for the Trail Blazers financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2017:
Guaranteed Salary
- Damian Lillard ($26,153,057)
- C.J. McCollum ($23,962,573)
- Allen Crabbe ($19,332,500)
- Evan Turner ($17,131,148)
- Maurice Harkless ($10,162,922)
- Meyers Leonard ($9,904,495)
- Al-Farouq Aminu ($7,319,035)
- Ed Davis ($6,352,531)
- Noah Vonleh ($3,505,233)
- Jusuf Nurkic ($2,947,305)
- Shabazz Napier ($2,361,360)
- Anderson Varejao ($1,984,005) — Waived via stretch provision.
- Jake Layman ($1,312,611)
- Festus Ezeli ($1,000,000) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below.1
- Total: $133,428,775
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Festus Ezeli ($6,733,000) — Partial guarantee. Guaranteed portion noted above.1
- Pat Connaughton ($1,471,382)2
- Tim Quarterman ($1,312,611)
- Total: $9,516,993
Restricted Free Agents
- None
Cap Holds
- No. 15 overall pick ($2,365,560)
- No. 20 overall pick ($1,859,400)
- No. 26 overall pick ($1,465,920)
- Total: $5,690,880
Projected Salary Cap: $101,000,000
Maximum Cap Room: –$38,119,655
- Portland has an extraordinary amount of money tied up in guaranteed salaries for next season. If the Blazers were to waive all their players on non-guaranteed salaries, the club’s remaining salaries for 2017/18 – along with cap holds for first-round draft picks – would total $139,119,655, a figure that would be well above the tax line. Trades to clear some salary are possible, but the Blazers are a virtual lock to remain over the cap this offseason.
Footnotes:
- Ezeli’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after June 30.
- Connaughton’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after July 25.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and The Vertical was used in the creation of this post.
So basically they are totally screwed unless they can make some changes. I have a potential 3 team deal. No way it happens in real life, but it would be an interesting proposition. Blake Griffin resigns with LA, gets traded to Portland. LA gets McCollum and Crabbe, plus one of Portland’s first rounders this year. Boston gets DeAndre Jordan. Portland gets Crowder and a future first from Boston. Boston sends LA the 18 Nets pick. LA launches a competitive rebuild by adding the Nets pick and a first this year, Portland gets a star big to play alongside Nurkic, and should mesh well with McCollum. Crowder replaced Crabbe on the wing and is much cheaper. They give up the first because Crabbe is so expensive. Boston gives up Crowder and 2 first rounders, one of which should be very good, but finally gets a quality big man.
That’s two first rounders and Crowder for Jordan whereas Portland gets a 1st rounder and Blake for McCollum and Crabbe? Boston giving up more to get Jordan than Portland to get Blake? You’re right, won’t happen.
Portland gives up the first rounder to LA and Crabbe basically has negative trade value because of the salary. Watching the game tonight, and many others, Crowder just isn’t that great. He’s decent, and pretty cheap, but nothing special. The Nets pick in 18 should be top 5, but I think they expect to be decent next year if they can grab a couple RFA’s this time. The second first would probably be heavily protected and in the back anyways because Boston would then be even better farther back in the draft. And Crowder and two firsts is not more than McCollum IMO. If Thomas and CJ wouldn’t be one of the worst defensive backcourts of all time, I would take McCollum.
I’m sorry but that trade will simply never happen and honestly it probably took longer for you to think of that trade than it would take for all 3 teams involved to hang up the phone