The Trail Blazers need time. Time to develop. Time to get healthy. So, it's a little ironic that the player GM Joe Cronin should be most urgently trying to trade the man known in NBA circles as 'Timelord'. His name, Robert Williams III.
Williams is not a bad player by any stretch. He's a decent backup center on a decent contract (an affordable, expiring $13.28 million). Any team looking to make a playoff run this year would be lucky to have him. At least, as long as he's healthy.
Staying healthy has been Williams' biggest struggle over the past few years. During the 2022 playoffs, the big man, then with the Boston Celtics, persevered through an injury to his left meniscus at the team's request. He hasn't been able to stay healthy since. In the three seasons since the injury (the two most recent being with Portland), Williams has played 35, six, and 20 games, respectively. He's officially been labeled 'injury prone': a negative mark on any player's trade value, but particularly a seven-footer.
The fact that Williams is not injured now makes it the perfect time for the Trail Blazers to trade him.
Timelord's time in Portland may be coming to a close
It is possible that the Trail Blazers' front office elects to extend Williams at a reasonable rate, enabling them to retain him as a backup if young centers Donovan Clingan or Yang Hansen take longer than anticipated to develop. The smarter move would be for Portland to get a return for Williams now.
As the final year of Williams' contract with Portland begins, Trail Blazers' GM Joe Cronin will have opportunities to part ways with the big man. He should take the calls. Each day, week, and month Williams remains on Portland's roster, the risk he suffers an injury increases.
The reality is that teams are going to low-ball Portland on any offer for Timelord, and they can't be blamed for not wanting to overpay. Other centers will come onto the market as the year progresses. Cronin may be tempted to try to hold on to Williams until the February trade deadline, when teams lose leverage in these low-ball offers as the clock winds down. In an ideal world, this would be smart, but given the injury history with Williams, the Trail Blazers simply can't afford to wait that long.
As Portland's young core moves towards extension eligibility (beginning with Shaedon Sharpe next summer), the team is going to need to move off the bloated contracts of Jrue Holiday and Jerami Grant. To do so, they'll need assets to sweeten the deal. A Williams trade could provide those.
To move Grant in particular, Portland will need to attach draft picks. A return of one or, ideally, two second-rounders in a Williams trade could end up being valuable when that moment comes. Another injury to Timelord would tank his trade value down below zero, effectively ending his tenure with the team. Cronin needs to act now.
After all, something is better than nothing.