The Portland Trail Blazers are angling themselves toward competing for a postseason spot this season, adding proven veterans in the backcourt while still taking a swing in the draft for a high-upside play. In the midst of their roster moves, however, they curiously moved on from a player who can help now and is young enough to help down the line: Jabari Walker.
The first level of curiosity with the Trail Blazers is the entire plan. They have a young core of Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Donovan Clingan and Toumani Camara that has legitimate two-way upside. Rather than allow them room to develop, however, they are pushing the chips in to make a run as early as this season. Deni Avdija and Jerami Grant were joined this summer by Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard; while Lillard may not be ready until the end of the season, if not later, signing the 35-year-old is anything but a win-now move.
The Trail Blazers moved on from Jabari Walker
If you accept that as the plan in Portland, however, you now have to ask yourself the question of why they moved on from Jabari Walker. The 6'9" combo forward out of Colorado played the first three seasons of his career in Portland after they drafted him 57th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft. He looked like an incredible value with one of the final picks of the draft, becoming a rotation player by his second season.
Last year his role was smaller, but that is in large part because of the players brought in over him. Toumani Camara blossomed into an All-Defense forward and Deni Avdija was a fringe All-Star and the team's best player. He worked in behind them, and no one is suggesting that he should have been a full-time starter. Yet he was valuable in his 12.5 minutes per game.
Walker's shot came around last season and he shot 38.9 percent on his 3-point attempts. He remains a solid rebounder and stout defender, and advanced metrics suggested that he went from a below replacement level forward in his second season to a positive impact player last year. Portland outscored opponents in his minutes by eight points per 100 possessions.
Not handing Walker a substantial new contract is a fine approach given the team's other forwards, but Walker's market was not established enough to demand a massive deal. That was proven when he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-way contract. He wasn't negotiating a mid-level exception offer; anything above the minimum likely would have locked him in.
Walker is only 23 years old, has excellent size and is a legitimate two-way player. He should be a long-term bench player in the NBA and could continue developing into a starter. The idea that he was not worth a standard contract to any of the 29 other teams in the league is ludicrous; while Portland probably needed to offer a multi-year deal to bring him back, they should have been prepared for it.
The 76ers need forwards, and it would not be surprising to see Walker in their rotation and earning a full contract over the course of this year. Portland is likely going to regret not bringing him back as he finds his role as a valuable NBA player.