10 Worst Portland Trail Blazers moves of the Joe Cronin era
By Tyler Watts
7. Allen Crabbe contract
Crabbe was the 31st overall pick in the 2013 draft and had a breakout third season just before he entered restricted free agency. The 6’5 wing averaged 10.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 26.0 minutes per game, and the Blazers wanted to continue developing the 24-year-old.
The 2016 cap spike left every team in the league with money to spend, and the Brooklyn Nets were hoping to add some young talent to their roster. They gave Crabbe a four-year $75 million offer sheet, which Portland matched. It paid Crabbe $18.8 million per season and made him the 31st highest-paid player in the NBA during the 2016-17 campaign.
Crabbe never fully broke out and the contract quickly became a negative value. The Blazers traded him to the Nets in 2017 for Andrew Nicholson, who they used the waive and stretch provision on. Portland still has a cap hit on their books because of Nicholson, but it was better than handing out that massive money Crabbe.
Allen Crabbe was out of the league by 2020. His defense and playmaking never improved, so he was just a shooter. Crabbe connected on 40 percent of his threes in just one season. His jumper was not good enough to make up for the rest of his game.