Decision #3 – Derrick Jones Jr player option
Derrick Jones Jr hasn’t had the desired impact defensively after signing a two-year $21 million deal in 2020 free agency. With the Blazers being one of the worst defensive teams in the league, this lack of impact isn’t just on him.
This isn’t just one of the worst defenses in the league; this is one of the worst defenses of all time. Because of scheme and coaching, this team defense just hasn’t cut it, and unfortunately, DJ may be the scapegoat. He has a player option for next season at around $10 million, and can make a decision at the end of the season. He was signed using the mid-level exception last season, but there’s a chance that maybe he decides not to come back. If his market is more than $10 million in next year’s free agency, then he will likely be elsewhere.
As the Blazers would be over the cap even if DJ left, this would only free up their mid-level; it wouldn’t give them any cap space to use.
DJ still has time to improve his play over the second part of the season and the playoffs. At this point, we need to wait and see how he performs in the second part of the season before we take a guess on his player option. With the injuries we’ve seen over the first five months of the season, he may still get a larger role in the rotation to prove himself, thus increasing his market in free agency.