Deandre Ayton's contract buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers forfeited $10 million of his $35.6 million salary for the upcoming season. That buyout gave the Blazers just enough room to use the full MLE without going into the tax, which was used to bring back Damian Lillard.
In many ways, Lillard's shockingly becoming available bailed the Blazers out of their contradictory offseason. What once looked like a series of head-scratching moves has started to form into a cohesive plan, with Lillard being the final piece of the puzzle.
Lillard signing turns Blazers' confusing offseason into cohesive plan
Before the Lillard signing, Portland's decision to buy out Ayton was somewhat puzzling. They did have a logjam at the center spot and wanted to clear the path for recent first-round picks Donovan Clingan and Yang Hansen, who is proving in the Summer League that he's ready to make an immediate impact. But at the same time, Portland has playoff aspirations after their win-now trade for 35-year-old guard Jrue Holiday. Keeping Ayton around would've helped them achieve that goal, as he's a flawed but talented center.
That decision became even more questionable as free agency began to settle. Intriguing options continued coming off the board as the Blazers and general manager Joe Cronin stood pat. Portland understandably wanted to keep their books clean; they are still years away from contending and already have two of the worst contracts in the league between Jerami Grant and now Holiday, owed over a combined $200 million throughout the next three seasons.
This offseason, the Blazers have struggled to balance ending their four-year playoff drought with developing their young core. They should've leaned more into their youth movement. It's a difficult situation to navigate, but also one they created through their inability to move veterans and their recent Holiday trade.
That line will get even more blurred by bringing in 35-year-old Lillard, who is expected to sit out the entirety of the 2025-26 season after his Achilles tear. This situation will eventually complicate their backcourt plans, but the silver lining is that Portland doesn't have to make a decision anytime soon.
By swapping Anfernee Simons for Holiday, Scoot Henderson is now set for an increased role that could result in a third-year breakout. Lillard's recovery timeline gives the Blazers an opportunity to see what they truly have in Scoot before making any drastic changes. And if he continues to build off a promising season, they'll feel much more comfortable moving Holiday and getting off his contract.
Between Hansen's summer league play and the Lillard reunion, basketball is getting exciting in Rip City again. The latter wouldn't have been possible without buying out Ayton, a decision that seemed questionable at the time but created much-needed flexibility for Portland.