Portland Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin provided an update on the status of center Robert Williams III at media day, and unfortunately, to no surprise, it wasn't promising. Cronin said that Williams still isn't fully cleared to play after undergoing knee surgery for the injury he suffered in March. He did note that Williams was getting close, but seeing as we're less than a month away from the start of the regular season, one would've hoped that Williams would've made more progress by now.
It's not just the recovery timeline that worries us; it's also the extent of Williams' brutal injury history.
Can Blazers salvage any value from Robert Williams?
Williams has been great for the Blazers when he's been available, with his two-way impact as a lob threat and rim protector going far beyond the 5.8 points and 5.9 rebounds a game last season. However, those instances have also been few and far between, as Williams has totaled just 26 games in two seasons since coming over from Boston. He's now exceeded 35 games played in two of his seven seasons in the NBA.
Considering Williams is now on an expiring deal, that's difficult to justify for Portland to continue investing in. Not only is he too unreliable to commit to, but the Blazers also spent back-to-back draft picks at the center position with the selections of Donovan Clingan and Yang Hansen. Combine Williams' injury history, expiring deal, and Portland's depth at the position, and it's easy to see why he should be considered a top trade candidate for the Blazers this season.
However, Williams's health is also one roadblock that could potentially get in the way of making that a reality. The Blazers need to try to build Williams' trade value back up by February so that they can maximize their return for him, but that could be difficult to do considering he's yet to be cleared to play.
The silver lining is that, between Clingan and Hansen, anything Portland gets out of Williams can be considered a luxury that they don't need to rely on. He can still have some value as a versatile center, giving Portland a different dimension and Chauney Billups more flexibility with matchups. Williams is better equipped to guard out on the perimeter than their seven-footers, which plays into their identity as a defensively versatile team.
But at the same time, we must realize how far the bar has fallen in terms of expectations surrounding Williams. He was once viewed as a key asset in Portland's (first) Jrue Holiday trade with the Celtics. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case due to injuries.
Hopefully, Portland will be able to get some value for him by the deadline. Otherwise, they may have to consider letting Williams walk in free agency to get out of this endless and frustrating cycle of inavailability.