The Portland Trail Blazers must trade Allen Crabbe to shed $55 million in salary cap space.
Allen Crabbe has been a solid player for the Portland Trail Blazers, but his time in Rip City may be coming to an end quite soon. Put simply — the Blazers can no longer afford to keep him.
Per The Vertical, Crabbe will be making $19.3 million this season as part of the four-year, $75 million contract he signed with Portland last summer. Unfortunately, Portland is now projected to go over the luxury tax line this year barring any big-time trades, and Crabbe happens to be one of the most attractive trade chips the Blazers have available.
This season, Crabbe played 79 games with Portland, averaging a career-high 10.7 points, a career-high 2.8 rebounds and a career-high 1.2 assists per game. Additionally, Crabbe shot a career-high 46.8 percent from the field, as well as a career-high 44.4 percent from behind the arc.
More from Portland Trail Blazers
- Damian Lillard needs just two words to dismantle a Blazers fan’s hot take
- NBA Rumors: Stalled trade talks may lead to Blazers, 76ers keeping stars
- The NBA’s strong message to Lillard clears path for a major trade
- NBA Trades: Is this the deal that finally sends Damian Lillard to Miami?
- 5 players who will challenge Victor Wembanyama for Rookie of the Year
So why exactly should the Portland Trail Blazers trade away a guy that just posted career-highs in every notable statistical category? Easy answer: Allen Crabbe isn’t worth the $55 million the Blazers are set to pay over the next three years.
Per 36 minutes, Crabbe averages 13.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists. Per 100 possessions, he averages 18.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 steals. Not only are these numbers slightly down from last season, but they do not reflect those of a player the Blazers want to be paying $55 million over the next three seasons.
This whole mess started when the Brooklyn Nets attempted to poach Crabbe last season with the aforementioned $75 million contract offer in restricted free agency. This offer was rightly matched by the Blazers, thereby creating a future trade chip with which they could cash in at a later date.
Well it’s come time to cash that trade chip in, and what team better to do business with than the Brooklyn Nets?
According to The Vertical, the Nets are set to pay just over $57 million worth of guarantee money for the 2017-18 season, which is WAY below the salary floor. In order to meet the salary floor line and avoid having to divvy up the remaining money amongst the rest of the team, the Nets will be looking to take on some big contracts, not to mention they’ve already shown they highly value a player like Crabbe.
Next: Blazers: 5 Options for 15th pick in 2017 NBA Draft
An old report from HoopHype.com stated that the Blazers would be willing to deal a guy like Allen Crabbe if it “allowed them to stockpile draft picks and save some money.” While the Nets wouldn’t be able to offer anything substantial in terms of future draft picks, a potential Crabbe deal would save Portland a HUGE amount of money and give the Blazers a traded player exception.