Trail Blazers News: Trade Idea Lands Portland Future First-Round Pick For Robert Williams
The Portland Trail Blazers come into the offseason with multiple veteran pieces that they could look to unload across the league. With the team entering into a full rebuild, trading away some of the veterans could net them additional draft capital for the future.
One of those players that they could look to move on from is center Robert Williams III. While Williams III isn't an older player, he could still have value across the league, even after an injury-riddled season.
Dan Favale of Bleacher Report put together a few trades that could shake up the NBA Draft this year and a Williams III trade made the cut. If Portland is looking to gain additional draft picks then why not trade with the team that has all the extra picks?
Favale proposed a deal where Portland would send Williams III and the No. 40 pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2025 first-rounder. The Trail Blazers could likely want a little more than one pick but this could be the start to any framework of a deal.
"Portland, for its part, might want more. Shocker. Oklahoma City can sweeten the pot without losing sleep. But the combination of RW3's health bill, the degree to which the Blazers seem invested in Deandre Ayton and the team's early-stage rebuild should render this, if nothing else, a conversation-starter."
Williams III was only limited to six games this season which could impact the return for the Trail Blazers. But he could help the Thunder in a big way due to his size and if he could stay healthy, the Thunder would have gotten a steal.
With Portland not likely to be in contention this season, a trade of Williams III does make some sense. Portland has to figure out what direction they want to go but moving off players like this could help them move forward faster.
More Trail Blazers: Western Conference Rival 'Checked In' On Jerami Grant For Trade
MATT LEVINE
Matt earned a Master of Science degree in Sport Management from Louisiana State University in 2021. He was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, covering all Southern California sports in his career.