Deni Avdija is having an All-Star-level breakout season so far for the Portland Trail Blazers. He's also on a four-year, $55 million deal that was frontloaded, meaning Portland owes him just $39.4 million over the next three years!
The NBA salary cap continues to increase while the 24-year-old Avdija continues to improve, making this contract just that much better for the Blazers.
Avdija somewhat broke out towards the end of last season when he took on a point-forward role for Portland following injuries to several key players. Now, he's experiencing a full-on breakout that could result in his first-ever All-Star appearance, and potentially even winning the Most Improved Player of the Year award as well.
Blazers have the best contract after Deni Avdija's star breakout
Through ten games, Avdija is averaging a ridiculous 25.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.9 assists. He's taking on an increased playmaking role, filling the void in Portland's backcourt that is still without Scoot Henderson. But the primary aspect Avdija has improved is his scoring, building off a career-best 16.9 points per game last season.
He's emerging as a legitimate three-level scorer who's nearly impossible to defend with his rare combination of size, physicality, ballhandling, and quickness. Avdija is shooting 35.6% from beyond the arc on 6.6 attempts per game. He's also getting to the foul line at an impressive rate, connecting on 85.1% of his 8.2 attempts per game.
Blazers assistant general manager Mike Schmitz, a former ESPN draft expert, previously called Avdija the steal of the 2020 NBA Draft after the Washington Wizards selected him with the No. 9 overall pick. Now, Schmitz's vision for Avdija is finally coming to life in the best way possible for Portland.
The Blazers have already come away as the clear winners of this surprising trade with the Wizards. Washington was rightfully embracing a full-on rebuild, but they'd still like to have this one back, considering Avdija still fits their timeline.
General manager Joe Cronin has nailed multiple trades now for the Blazers, who have uneconventionally added their true building blocks of Avdija and Toumani Camara via trade rather than the draft.
Yet, with Schmitz noticing Avdija's true value early on and the Blazers doing their predraft homework on Camara, it just goes to show the importance of identifying and evaluating these talents entering the league, as you never know whose going to become available in the ever-evolving NBA.
Thanks to this lopsided deal and Avdija's star ascension, the Blazers now have a legitimate shot of making the play-in out West. With his contract being the best in the league, Portland has a significant advantage in terms of retaining and potentially even upgrading its young core.
Avdija is a key building block in Portland due to his on-court production, but this contract is just the cherry on top, improving their long-term outlook.