The Portland Trail Blazers' most recent move was stealing former Boston Celtics guard John Tonje on a two-year, two-way deal. They still have one final spot left to fill on their 15-man roster, which they are reportedly looking to fill in the form of non-guaranteed players.
Monday, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported on The Stein Line that Portland is looking to bring in these non-guaranteed contracts as competition for Micah Potter.
"Word is that the Trail Blazers are looking to bring in several players on non-guaranteed contracts to compete alongside Micah Potter for a final roster spot after Portland recently claimed Potter off waivers," Fischer writes.
Blazers are using every bit of leverage on final roster spots
Potter was waived by the Indiana Pacers in order to create cap space for former Blazer Larry Nance Jr. That means Portland will absorb his contract, including a $2.8 million team option that Indiana previously picked up for 2026-27. That was non-guaranteed, which the Blazers appear to be capitalizing on as they bring in more competition to round out their roster.
To a certain extent, it's similar to how they approached the head coaching search, ultimately reaching a uniquely structured deal with new head coach Micah Nori that the NBCA publicly condemned. New owner Tom Dundon is going to utilize all the leverage he can in any situation that's handed to him. Making that 15-man roster is a dream for many of these fringe rotation players, and Portland seems to be using that to its advantage as they are able to bring in competition on less favorable deals.
It's not nearly as bad as the coaching search, when the Blazers were casting a wide net of options for Tiago Splitter's potential replacement while he literally had them still fighting in the postseason.
Portland still needs Micah Potter's shooting
Regardless of this approach to let non-guaranteed players fight it out for those final spots, Potter still seems like a worthwhile addition to this roster. As a career 38.9 percent three-point shooter, he's one of the few reliable floor-spacing options in the Blazers' frontcourt.
Even if they decide to keep Potter around, Portland can still use that final 15th spot to bring in more of a two-way wing, filling the void left by the likes of Kris Murray and, more recently, Matisse Thybulle, who signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Portland's wing/forward depth gets shallow quickly behind Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara. Keeping Potter to address the shooting woes while finding a replacement for defense lost this offseason seems like the best route forward. Hopefully, they use that competition to find the best available two-way wing while keeping Potter in the mix.
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