The Trail Blazers have exercised their third-year options for the 2019/20 season on big men Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian tweets. The team has officially confirmed the option decisions.
The cap hit on Collins, who will make $3.63MM in his second NBA season, will be $4.24MM. The cap charge on Swanigan, who will make $1.74MM this season, will be a little over $2MM next season.
Portland already had over $119MM in guaranteed salary commitments on its cap for the 2019/20 season, so the decisions on Collins and Swanigan will add to potential luxury tax issues unless it can move some contracts.
Collins, the 10th overall pick in the 2017 draft, posted modest numbers in his rookie campaign. He averaged 4.4 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 15.8 MPG while making 66 regular-season appearances. He averaged 7.0 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 17.5 MPG during the Blazers’ four postseason games.
Swanigan, the 26th overall selection last summer, averaged 2.3 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 7.0 MPG during 27 regular-season appearances.
The decision to exercise those options shows that the Blazers feel there’s plenty of untapped potential in both players, though they are projected to have reserve roles this season. Collins should see more action with last year’s backup center, Ed Davis, signing with the Nets in free agency.