The Portland Trail Blazers entered the summer with four players set to hit free agency: Matisse Thybulle, Blake Wesley, Robert Williams III, and Caleb Love. They extended Williams and saw Love join the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-way deal.
Following their Ja Morant blockbuster and Branden Carlson signing, Portland now has the final two spots left to fill on its 15-man roster. In theory, they could fill those between Thybulle and Wesley, who remain unrestricted free agents. Of the two options, it makes far more sense for Portland to retain the former to find a better roster balance.
Unfortunately, for similar reasons that the Blazers let Love take his talents to Philadelphia, there may not be enough space in this crowded backcourt for Wesley, either.
The Blazers should move on from Blake Wesley
Between Holiday, Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, and Scoot Henderson, the Blazers already have four point guards skilled enough to start in this league. Had the Blazers viewed Morant more as a precursor to then flip Holiday, that would be one thing. However, Portland has conveyed to teams around the league that they intend to keep Holiday around, believing they can make this guard logjam work in part because of his positional versatility.
Assuming the Blazers are done with their surprising trades this summer, there's simply no room to justify keeping Wesley on this roster heading into the 2026-27 season.
The Blazers' shooting woes went from bad to worse by acquiring Morant, especially considering they lost one of their most reliable floor spacing options in Jerami Grant. Given how much this team already loves to drive, headlined by Deni Avdija's league-leading 19.4 drives per game, they can't afford to fill out the rest of his roster with more non-shooters such as Wesley. He's finished under 30 percent from beyond the arc for three consecutive seasons, making this a poor roster fit on the offensive end.
The case for keeping him around in Portland lies in his defensive tenacity, something the Blazers certainly need after losing a significant portion of their defensive identity in the Morant deal. But given their positional needs at forward, the Blazers have to find a way to get back to that defensive identity through two-way wings, which is yet another case for prioritizing Thybulle over Wesley.
The Notre Dame guard was a pleasant surprise last season, helping fill the void of Portland's depleted backcourt that suffered one injury after another. But unfortunately, this revamped Blazers backcourt no longer needs those services heading into next year.
Not to say his NBA career should be up; he's earned another opportunity if Portland does ultimately move on. But it's increasingly looking like that opportunity will have to come elsewhere, as there's no room in this crowded backcourt to justify keeping around yet another poor offensive fit.
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