Despite being swept out of the first round of the postseason in 2018, the Trail Blazers ran back virtually the same roster for the 2018/19 season and the team’s confidence in its core players paid dividends.
With a more favorable playoff draw in 2019, Portland won two series, earning a spot in the Western Conference Finals for the first time in nearly 20 years. The club’s success led to renewed faith in its core, including head coach Terry Stotts and president of basketball operations Neil Olshey, who both signed contract extensions.
Here’s where things currently stand for the Trail Blazers financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2019:
Guaranteed Salary
- Damian Lillard ($29,802,321)
- CJ McCollum ($27,556,959)
- Evan Turner ($18,606,556)
- Jusuf Nurkic ($12,000,000)
- Maurice Harkless ($11,511,234)
- Meyers Leonard ($11,286,515)
- Zach Collins ($4,240,200)
- Andrew Nicholson ($2,844,430) — Waived via stretch provision
- Skal Labissiere ($2,338,847)
- Anfernee Simons ($2,149,560)
- Anderson Varejao ($1,913,345) — Waived via stretch provision
- Gary Trent Jr. ($1,416,852)
- Festus Ezeli ($333,333) — Waived via stretch provision
- Total: $126,000,152
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- None
Restricted Free Agents
- Jake Layman ($1,931,189 qualifying offer / $1,931,189 cap hold): Bird rights
- Total: $1,931,189
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Al-Farouq Aminu ($13,218,500): Bird rights
- Rodney Hood ($4,167,466): Non-Bird rights
- Seth Curry ($3,354,000): Non-Bird rights
- No. 25 overall pick ($2,103,000)
- Enes Kanter ($1,618,486): Non-Bird rights
- Total: $24,461,452
Projected Salary Cap: $109,000,000
Projected Tax Line: $132,000,000
Offseason Cap Outlook
- Realistic cap room projection: $0
- With $126MM already committed to 10 players for 2019/20, the Trail Blazers project to be back in the tax next season unless they can cut costs a little or fill out their roster extremely cheaply. Their odds of creating cap room are extremely slim.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Taxpayer mid-level exception: $5,711,000 1
Footnotes
- This is a projected value. If the Trail Blazers were to reduce salary and stay out of tax territory, they could instead have access to the full mid-level exception ($9,246,000) and the bi-annual exception ($3,619,000).
Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are estimates based on salary cap projections and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
This team really needs to move Evan Turner. He is not worth anywhere close to the money he is owed. Maybe they could find a team with a similar bad deal for a big man. Maybe Bismack Biyombo of Charlotte or Ian Mahinmi of Washington. At the very least, it would put the salary into a position of need.
The Blazers have plenty of big guys. And nowadays you need big guys who can shoot.
The wing is where Portland has a need.
Yeah Evan Turner doesn’t excel at anything he’s just good at almost everything. But you can’t get rid of him especially when Aminu is a free agent also.
Yes his salary sucks but you are faced with limited choices for trade/ or replacement.
The Blazers are in kind of a tough spot and may have to run it again with the same Squad. I will they be as good without enes Kanter and Aminu…, and to a lesser degree Hood and Curry?
“But” will they be as good….
I was operating under the assumption that Aminu would be brought back. I also think at least one of Hood, Curry, and Kanter will come back. Probably depending on which one they can get on the cheap.
As far as trading Turner, limited choices are better than none.
They could pick up a wing like Louis King from Oregon at 25 to take the spot of one of their possible departing guys. But I think their best pick would be PJ Washington from Kentucky. I think his game would fit well with the team and he improved more than anyone from last year to this. He could be this year’s Pascal Siakam.
Send Turner along with a 1st to a team like Atlanta for like a top 55 protected 2nd. You gotta get that money off the team.
This mess got Olshey extended! Dead weight on the guaranteed list… starters are FAs while the team is at the tax.
All 5 FAs were important contributors, not just propects. I guess it’s up to the owner, who they can bring back at the luxury rate. I presume Collins or Harkless will replace Aminu, with Hood to the 3. How can they extend Lillard now after looking at this?
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McCollum should request a trade (likely ignored) then run the “Butler play” after 2019/20… Force a trade to get on a team that can afford his next contract as a returnee. The new team can spend more on him with bird rights than they can as a FA signer.
He is stuck behind Lillard for recognition but McCollum is a better talent with more separation, creativity & shot selection. Lillard just steps farther & farther back and is “competitive”.
Forcing a trade this coming year with 2 years left to get more power… the “Irving play”… not out of the question. The Blazers are unlikely to get as far in the immediate future.