The Trail Blazers will have a tough time controlling the market for Allen Crabbe
Allen Crabbe‘s breakout season couldn’t have come at a better time for himself and the Trail Blazers. Fortunately for him, he is about to head into his first contract negotiations as a pro. If it wasn’t for C.J. McCollum‘s massive improvements, Crabbe would have been the clear favorite for most improved player on the Trail Blazers. His gains in 2015-16 are about to pay huge dividends in the coming years. His salary was just a shade under a million dollars this season, which is a number that is about to be smashed this summer.
While Portland seems like the clear favorite to retain his services, his potential suitors will certainly try their best to lure him away. Crabbe isn’t a true free agent, instead he is a restricted free agent. Restricted free agency gives a player’s current team a massive advantage over other franchises. The Trail Blazers will have the opportunity to match any contract offer that Crabbe receives from another team.
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The tricky part will be managing Crabbe’s salary cap number. It appears that the Trail Blazers will be in the market to land a big time free agent. If they plan on handing out a max level contract it will take every bit of available cap space to do so.
Even though Crabbe is technically out of contract, he still has a cap hold on Portland’s payroll. Crabbe’s current cap hold sits at 2.7 million dollars, which is well below his market value. If he signs an offer with another team, his cap hold will jump to the yearly salary of his new deal (which will be considerably higher than his initial cap hold). If that happens, Neil Olshey will be faced with some tough choices.
With the cap logistics out of the way, we now want to look at what teams could pursue Crabbe’s services. Almost every team in the NBA could use his “3 & D” skill set, so we decided to narrow it down to five teams that make the most sense. We ranked teams on their available cap space and the current rotation already present on their roster.
Next: Number Five