Blazers Open To Attaching First-Rounder To Move Salary?

The Trail Blazers currently hold three first-round picks in next month’s draft, and according to Keith Smith of RealGM.com (via Twitter), the team is willing to discuss attaching one of those picks to a big contract in order to cut costs.

No NBA team has more money on its 2017/18 cap than the Blazers, who have an astounding $133MM+ tied up in guaranteed salaries. That figure doesn’t include cap holds for their three first-round picks, which would take team salary up over $139MM. Considering the NBA’s latest salary cap projections call for a $101MM cap and a tax line around $121MM, Portland will need to dump a good chunk of salary in order to avoid a significant tax bill.

[RELATED: 2017 Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Portland Trail Blazers]

The fact that the Blazers are willing to discuss moving one of their first-rounders to a team willing to eat some salary isn’t surprising. I alluded to that possibility in my offseason preview on the club, noting that many of Portland’s higher-paid players – with the exception of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum – wouldn’t have much trade value on their own without attaching them to a more valuable asset, like a first-round pick.

If the Blazers were to make such a deal, players like Allen Crabbe ($19.33MM salary for 2017/18), Evan Turner ($17.13MM), and Meyers Leonard ($9.9MM) would be trade candidates. Teams with an excess of cap room and without immediate aspirations of contending, such as the Kings, the Nets, and perhaps the Sixers and Suns, would be among the logical trade partners for Portland.

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