Blazers Offseason

Players Under Contract: 10

Damian Lillard – $29,802,321
CJ McCollum – $27,556,959
Jusuf Nurkic – $12,000,000
Zach Collins – $5,406,255
Gary trent Jr – 1,663,861
Anfernee Simons $2,252,040
Nassir Little – $2,210,640
Trevor Ariza – TO $12,800,000 (Team Option)
Rodney Hood – PO $6,003,900 (Player Option)
Mario Hezonja – PO 1,882,867 (Player Option)

Dead Money –

Anderson Varajeo – $2,844,429
Andrew Nicholson – $1,913,345 *

– Last year of stretched contract – Varajeo’s will continue until 2024-25

Total Salary – $109, 958,442

2020-21 NBA Salary And Luxury Tax

Both are still being discussed as part of the renegotiated CBA, but it appears the salary cap will remain the same at about $109 million and the Luxury tax cap will move up to about $140 million

Blazers Free Agents

Hassan Whiteside
Carmelo Anthony
Caleb Swanigan
Wenyen Gabriel
Jaylen Adams

Jaylen Hoard and Moses Brown who the Blazers signed as two way players, are also free agents

Blazers Off-season Tools:

Trade Player Exception – The Blazers have a $7.1 million trade player exception created by the mid season trade with the Sacramento Kings involving Kent Bazemore and Trevor Ariza as main pieces. The Blazers can trade a team for a player worth the exception without sending out a player

Mid Level Exception – The Blazers will have access to the Mid Level Exception worth $9.3 million to sign a player

Bi – Annual Exception – The Blazers will have access to the Bi-Annual Exception worth an estimated $4,008,900 to sign a player

Possible Off-season Options

Resign Players – The Blazers are likely to resign Wenyen Gabriel. It appears they might resign Carmelo Anthony. They could resign Hassan Whiteside. The Blazers are likely to let Caleb Swanigan and Jaylen Adams walk. They could sign Jaylen Hoard to a contract. Moses Brown is not likely to return.

The Blazers will have about $30 million to work with. If the Blazers use the full extent of all three of the TPE, MLE, and BAE, that will cost them just over $20 million. That would leave $10 million to resign players. Even on a team friendly deal, Whiteside would probably command all of that remaining money.

Portland could give Whiteside a back end deal with less now and more later, but he might not accept that. If he does, the Blazers could sign Melo with the BAE. Though Melo probably will want at least the MLE. But, if the Blazers can get Whiteside and Gabriel back with that $10 million and Melo with the BAE, that leaves them the MLE and TPE to bring in two new players to upgrade the roster and be at the tax ceiling.

Though with the Pandemic and huge losses in revenue the Blazers may look to get thrifty and stay as far under the tax as they can. That would mean letting Whiteside go in the least. Either way Neil Olshey has his work cut out for him in the next few months Free agency will begin at the beginning of December if not in the remaining days of November after the Draft on the 18th.

In my next article, I will go over free agent options and TPE candidates the Blazers could go after.