The Portland Trail Blazers have been surprisingly quiet this offseason, with their only additions being former Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant and former Oklahoma City Thunder big man Branden Carlson. While Portland made headlines for the Morant blockbuster, given his household name as a two-time All-Star, that wasn't even their best move so far this offseason.
Rather, it was the player they didn't lose by reaching a three-year, $44 million extension with valuable backup center Robert Williams III.
Here's how some of the most prominent signings of the summer grade out in my salary model that translates expected impact --> dollar value. Green is a good contract, red is bad.
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) July 6, 2026
Most contracts have been either good or neutral-ish, with one notable exception: pic.twitter.com/UcGrRFHcJW
This may not have been the best deal of the entire NBA summer, based on Steph Noh of Sporting News' salary model. However, Williams' extension is a far better decision than the final figures indicate, given the provisions of his deal.
Robert Williams' unique contract makes it the best move of Portland's summer
At the time of the signing, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported on X that Williams has a "wonky" deal that includes a fully guaranteed salary in only his first year.
"In Portland, I'm told Robert Williams' extension is fully guaranteed at $14 million for this season, but just $5 million guaranteed in Year 2, which becomes fully guaranteed if he plays 50 games this 2026-27 campaign. Then, Year 3 is entirely non-guaranteed, but becomes fully guaranteed if Williams plays 50 games in 27-28. Wonky..."
Williams' unique deal is part of a trend this summer of role players and borderline starters receiving just one guaranteed season on multi-year contracts. Besides Williams, that's been the case for Norman Powell, Kristaps Porzingis, Keon Ellis, Zach Collins, and John Collins. But aside from Porzingis' puzzling injury history, Portland's ability to extend the injury-prone Williams without guaranteeing additional years of his salary is also a major win.
Jason Quick of The Athletic previously reported that the Blazers were expected to move on from Williams, who was seeking an average of $15 million AAV elsewhere. That was a disappointing rumor considering how important Time Lord was to this Blazers roster last season.
He was a stopgap for rookie Yang Hansen, giving them more time for their multi-year project. He also even outplayed starting center Donovan Clingan for stretches, particularly in their first-round playoff loss to the San Antonio Spurs, where we thought Tiago Splitter should've made a mid-series adjustment at starting center.
Williams has reemerged to become one of the league's premier backup centers, which got several teams around the league excited about the increased possibility of him entering free agency.
However, the Blazers front office has always valued Williams highly, as he's frequently survived trade rumors throughout his tenure in Portland. Now, he's officially survived free agency rumors too, even coming from Blazers insiders like Quick.
It would be one thing had Portland reached that $15 million AAV Williams was seeking without any protections. But considering how unique the contract is to provide them insurance against his unfortunate injury history, this is a steal for Portland.
It's far better value than what Noh's model even suggests, given the insurance provided for both Williams' injury-proneness and the Blazers' uncertain frontcourt as a whole.
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