Ja Morant may have come at an additional cost for the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Blazers are not expected to retain free agent center Robert Williams III, Jason Quick of The Athletic reported on Monday. Quick notes that Williams is hoping to land a contract in the range of $15 million per year.
Portland made a major splash earlier in the day on Monday by acquiring the two-time All-Star guard Morant in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies, sending two notable players back in return. But taking on Morant’s contract now means that the Blazers have less space to work with if they want to stay under the luxury tax threshold (as they absorbed about $5 million more salary in the Morant trade than they sent out to the Grizzlies).
As for Williams, the 28-year-old former All-Defensive selection, he had spent the last three seasons with the Blazers. While he is often injured and is undersized for a center at 6-foot-9, Williams posted a respectable 6.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game over 59 total bench appearances for the Blazers last season.
Williams has probably played his way into his desired contract range of $15 million a year and thus out of the range where the Blazers would be able to keep him post-Morant trade. As such, Portland will likely be moving forward with 21-year-old Yang Hansen as the primary backup to 22-year-old starting center Donovan Clingan and possibly targeting a cheaper depth veteran in free agency.
That also opens up some possibilities for a center-needy team on the free agent market this summer. In particular, the former first-round pick Williams has drawn interest in recent months from at least one marquee NBA franchise.
