One downside of the Oklahoma City Thunder's unprecedented depth is that they will have financial difficulty in retaining key players. Two-way wing Lu Dort may be the victim of that this summer, giving the Portland Trail Blazers a perfect opportunity to bolster their defensive identity in free agency.
Dort has a $18.2 million team option for next season, which the Thunder should decline as it would put them over the second tax apron. Isaiah Hartenstein also has a $28.5 million team option for next season, but it's expected that OKC will prioritize keeping the big man over Dort.
Lu Dort could be the odd man out in OKC
It's hard to make a case otherwise, especially after Dort's shortcomings in the postseason. He averaged just 4.3 points in 19.3 minutes per game in their Conference Finals loss to the San Antonio Spurs, shooting an inefficient 34.3 percent from the field and 20.0 percent from beyond the arc.
With Cason Wallace's looming extension and Hartenstein's next contract, Dort suddenly appears to be the odd man out in Oklahoma City. The Blazers can use this to their advantage, as the underwhelming postseason makes it more likely that he's in their price range this summer.
Portland doesn't have cap space after extending Shaedon Sharpe and Toumani Camara last offseason. However, they are still in a strong enough financial position to use their $15 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception. Despite his coveted player archetype as a two-way wing, it's realistic to see a scenario in which teams are reluctant to offer Dort much more than that, given his limited ceiling and inability to be a go-to option.
Dort would be a major two-way upgrade for Portland
Portland at least needs to pursue Dort to see if they can steal him away, as they don't need him to be anything more than a 3-and-D wing. The Blazers have a new-look offense built around Deni Avdija as their point forward, and are already set to get offensive reinforcements with Damian Lillard's return. They could have someone like Dort to space the floor offensively while doubling down on their defensive identity.
He's somewhat of a streaky shooter, but it's far better than Portland's current depth options, including Kris Murray and Sidy Cissoko. Not to mention, they could use a replacement for Matisse Thybulle, who is set to hit free agency this summer and, unfortunately, has an extensive injury history.
Dort may not be the needle mover the Blazers still need to find to propel themselves into contention. But he has already proven himself to be an elite role player who has won at the highest level. Just because he's expendable on a Thunder team with historic depth doesn't mean he wouldn't be incredibly valuable elsewhere.
Hopefully, that's in Portland, where Dort would give the Blazers yet another defensive weapon to have at their disposal.
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