The Portland Trail Blazers parted ways with forward Jabari Walker in the offseason. Their loss was Philadelphia's gain, as the 76ers surprisingly landed him on a two-way contract. Many Blazers fans who saw firsthand the value Walker provided as a high-energy role player over the last three seasons were surprised he was a two-way signing.
That changed this week as the 76ers plan to convert Walker into a standard contract in the coming days, ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Monday.
76ers converting Jabari Walker's contract is a reminder of Blazers' offseason mistake
We expected Walker to land on a 15-man roster the moment he left Portland. The 76ers realized his value as well, which goes far beyond the 3.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Walker has always been the type of player who impacts winning beyond the counting stats, making him the ideal complementary piece who can fit seamlessly into any team's system.
What team can't use more rebounding, defense, and contagious effort? Those are the type of traits that quickly made Walker a fan favorite in Portland. He's not the most talented player by any means, but the type who knows how to effectively utilize every percent of that talent for the betterment of the team.
That's certainly missed in Portland. We wanted the front office to keep him around, although it always seemed unlikely given their need to create more roster flexibility.
That's the silver lining of this development for Portland: their offseason additions make the Walker loss sting less.
Sidy Cissoko is the silver lining for Portland
It's easy to say they should've kept Walker around as part of their young core, but that decision isn't as clear once you consider who they would've moved on from instead. Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday are no-brainers, while rookie Yang Hansen has a tantalizing upside that gives him a much higher ceiling than Walker.
You could make a compelling case for Walker over Blake Wesley, but the counterargument is that the Blazers found their own version of Walker with two-way signing Sidy Cissoko.
The French wing is becoming another fan favorite in Portland, winning many over with similar traits Walker possesses in terms of being an Energizer Bunny. However, Cissoko's ball skills make him much better equipped to play on the perimeter, which fits Portland's roster better than Walker.
They now face a similar roster crunch with Cissoko, who has reached his 50-game limit as a two-way contract. If the Blazers do intend to convert his contract to a standard one, they'll need to clear a roster spot. Wesley, Rayan Rupert, and Matisse Thybulle are all potential candidates to be waived, although we lean towards Thybulle given his age, injury history, and expiring contract.
Cissoko is the one replacement for Walker that doesn't make this news sting as much. We're happy for Walker as he deserves a standard contract. But the Blazers must learn from their mistakes. They already let one ideal role player in Walker leave, and they must do everything they can to retain Cissoko to make sure his impact isn't felt elsewhere.