Robert Williams III could hit free agency this offseason with his $13.3 million contract set to expire. However, the Portland Trail Blazers can still extend his contract before the end of June.
Williams has bounced back from injury to make a significant two-way impact in Portland this season. He's been the ideal backup to spell Donovan Clingan, offering the Blazers another dimension in the frontcourt thanks to his defensive versatility and lob threat ability.
We saw that throughout the season, but particularly in the Blazers' recent first-round playoff loss to the San Antonio Spurs. In that five-game stretch, Williams was night and day better than Clingan, finishing the series averaging 9.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 21.6 minutes per game. He even made a compelling case to start over Clingan as the series progressed, though Tiago Splitter never made the adjustment.
Robert Williams III has become irreplaceable in Portland
Still, the most important takeaway is how important Williams is to this Blazers roster. They're going to take yet another leap next season with Damian Lillard's return, and keeping Williams around has to be considered a top priority to continue building that momentum.
He's proven to be the ideal complementary piece to Clingan and was arguably the best backup big in the entire association this season. That's crucial for Portland's win-now aspirations, especially since Yang Hansen appears to be a multi-year project that can't be relied on to make a meaningful contribution next season.
Not to mention the redundancy between Clingan and Hansen's player archetypes in their weaknesses as drop coverage bigs. If Clingan is getting played off the court by a perimeter-heavy team, as was the case with San Antonio, having Williams at the disposal is a necessity rather than a luxury. That's not an ideal situation, considering how much Portland invested in the center spot, but that's simply the reality of where they are heading into the 2026-27 season.
What could a Williams extension look like?
Williams was previously considered to be on thin ice in Portland, constantly popping up in trade rumors. But we've seen the value he's brought to this roster, making it a no-brainer to keep him around.
The question now turns to what's a reasonable deal?
If Portland does extend Williams before June 30, he can sign up to a four-year, $87 million deal, averaging $21.75 million annually.
They have enough financial flexibility to make that a realistic deal. And Williams has even proven worthy of an amount of that range, becoming irreplaceable in Portland.
Unfortunately, injury concerns remain a major red flag. Portland finally seems to have a good system in place for managing Williams' injury, with him sitting out one leg of back-to-back games. His 59 games played were a pleasant surprise, but it's also the second-most games he's played in a season throughout his entire career. If Portland does extend Williams, one would assume they include some sort of injury protection or games played milestone.
If the Blazers can make that happen, they absolutely should. Portland is finally ready to make a deeper playoff run next season, and Williams has become an integral part of what they've built in Rip City.
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