Valuable now but with a questionable future
6. Matisse Thybulle
The Blazers matched a three-year, $33 million offer sheet from the Dallas Mavericks to keep Thybulle from getting away. The two-time all-defensive team guard shot a career-high 38.8 percent from three last season, seemingly becoming the three-and-D guard Portland hoped for.
But that number's regressed to 34.6 percent this year, his minutes have declined and he's only scoring 5.4 points per game. At 27 years old, it's fair to say this is who Thybulle is as a player. His $11 million salary isn't exorbitant, but if he's relegated to being an off-the-bench defensive specialist, it's not exactly great value, either.
5. Robert Williams III
Cronin jumped at the opportunity to grab Williams, one of the best defensive big men in the league, when he rerouted Jrue Holiday from Milwaukee to Boston. In 61 games during the 2021-22 season, Williams averaged 10.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks on his way to being named second-team all-defense.
But the 26-year-old has only crossed the 50-game threshold one other time in his six NBA seasons and played just six games for the Blazers this year before needing season-ending knee surgery.
Rob Will's value stems from the potential of combining his high ceiling with his low $12 million average annual salary. But when he's not on the floor there's no value at all.