3 Players the Portland Trail Blazers gave up on too soon

2. Trendon Watford

Losing Trendon Watford wasn't as significant as Batum, but it still is a head-scratcher. Watford was an undrafted free agency signing with the Blazers and had two promising seasons, averaging 7.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. He was a great fit and filled multiple needs for the Blazers as a versatile 6-foot-9 forward who shot 39.1 percent from three in the 2022-23 season. He was also on a reasonable four-year $5.8 million contract that would have made him a free agent in 2025.

The Blazers waived Watford on June 30, 2023, right before Damian Lillard officially requested a trade from the Blazers on July 1. The decision to waive Watford seemed primarily to give the Blazers more flexibility to build a roster that could contend for a championship and convince Lillard to stay. However, they also contradicted that by selecting Scoot Henderson as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

The writing was already on the wall that the Blazers were leaning towards a rebuilding era. Whether or not Watford was still on the team was an irrelevant factor in Lillard's decision. By trying to straddle the line between rebuilding and keeping Lillard, the Blazers lost an underrated asset in Watford, who would have been a solid rotational piece in their rebuilding core.