The Portland Trail Blazers' young core already provides them a promising future, but they are also well-equipped to upgrade their roster next summer. Portland is projected to have cap space next offseason, and new owner Tom Dundon has a proven track record of turning around the NHL Carolina Hurricanes. Expect him to do the same with the Blazers, making a splash in 2026 to return to playoff contention.
New ownership and cap space point to Blazers' playoff drought ending
Although Jrue Holiday and Jerami Grant will both be overpaid in 2026-27 at $34.8 million and $34.2 million, respectively, that won't be as detrimental to a team in the Blazers' situation because they have several players still under rookie-scale and team-friendly deals. Additionally, the salary cap is set to increase by ten percent this year and by seven percent in 2026-27. As a result, ESPN projects the Blazers to be one of at least ten teams to have significant cap space starting next offseason.
The Blazers' young core is showing promising signs of development while simultaneously creating cap flexibility, putting them in an ideal situation in their rebuild to make a legitimate jump back into playoff relevancy after a four-year drought. Of course, some of that challenge lies in continuing to make external upgrades while retaining their young core.
Building blocks Toumani Camara and Shaedon Sharpe are already extension-eligible, but the Blazers would be wise to hold off on those until next summer. It's a similar approach that the Philadelphia 76ers had with Tyrese Maxey. Maxey had already proven his worth as a rising star in the league, but Philadelphia elected not to extend him to maximize its cap flexibility. The following offseason, they brought another co-star in Paul George (wrong player, right process). Portland has a golden opportunity to follow a similar blueprint, especially with players like Deandre Ayton (buyout), Robert Williams, and Matisse Thybulle coming off the books.
A significant factor behind Dundon's success with the Hurricanes was his ability to bring in the right people to maximize roster value while strategically navigating the salary cap. That's as important as ever -- not only under the new CBA, but also at this point in Portland's rebuild.
The Blazers are finally at a crossroads with their roster, where they will be forced to evaluate how all their pieces fit together rather than simply stockpiling assets. Dundon is an ideal owner to help get them to this next phase in their rebuild and back into the playoffs. He couldn't have entered the picture at a better time.