The Portland Trail Blazers may need to find a Robert Williams III replacement this offseason, as their talented but injury-prone center is on an expiring contract. They should consider addressing this problem in the 2026 NBA Draft, and there's a perfect solution that just so happens to be right in their draft range: Kentucky's Jayden Quaintance.
Would Portland really spend three consecutive lottery picks on a big man? Well, that depends on various factors, but they should at least consider it.
Robert Williams' departure would leave a gaping hole in Blazers' frontcourt
There's a chance Williams is playing himself out of Portland. Bill Simmons even mentioned that Williams could command a three-year, $50 million deal in the offseason after the strong season he's had with the Blazers. As good as he's been, that's too steep a price for Portland, given their center hierarchy and Williams' injury history. But that would also leave a gaping hole in their frontcourt if they were to lose Time Lord.
Williams gives Portland another dimension thanks to his defensive versatility, as he's better equipped to guard on the perimeter than Donovan Clingan or Yang Hansen, two bigs who thrive in drop coverage. Quaintance is one of the most athletic bigs in the entire class and an elite shot blocker with his 7-5 wingspan. He would give Portland a similar piece to Williams to maintain their defensive identity for years to come.
Unfortunately, there are also similarities in injuries affecting availability and performance. Quaintance transferred from Arizona State to play his sophomore season at Kentucky. He entered the year projected as a top-five pick in a loaded class, but was never able to fully overcome his ACL tear suffered late in his freshman year. Quaintance played just four games at Kentucky, averaging 5.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 16.8 minutes per game in that limited stretch.
Jayden Quaintance could be a late-lottery steal for Portland
That's caused his draft stock to fall; he was recently projected to go No. 10 overall in FanSided's latest NBA Mock Draft. It could be a blessing in disguise for Portland, as it's unlikely a fully healthy Quaintance would realistically fall to the late lottery.
Given Williams' potential departure, bringing Quaintance into the mix makes much more sense than some may believe. With the Yang Hansen selection that shocked the world last year, Portland proved they aren't afraid to take on high-risk, high-reward prospects, and they certainly don't let positional overlap get in the way. Unlike Hansen, his ability to guard out on the perimeter also gives him the potential to play both the four and five positions. That makes the center crunch less significant, especially considering Clingan's improved three-point shot.
Williams has proven to be one of the most valuable players on this entire Blazers roster this season. Under other circumstances, we'd love to keep him around for the long haul. Who knows, maybe they do figure out a mutually beneficial deal. But Portland needs to explore replacements this summer, and drafting a younger, cheaper Williams clone in Quaintance has to be an intriguing late-lottery steal.