Portland Trail Blazers: 4 goals in 2021 NBA free agency

Portland Trail Blazers goals in NBA free agency: 1. Re-sign Norman Powell

The main priority for the Trail Blazers this summer should be to bring back Norman Powell. He has a player option for next season. After two breakout years for both the Toronto Raptors and the Blazers, Powell will most likely decline his player option and hit free agency this offseason to secure himself a bigger contract.

Portland traded for Powell at last season’s NBA trade deadline. They gave up a valuable young player set to be a restricted free agent in Gary Trent Jr. to acquire Powell, and because they did that, the Blazers can not afford to let Norman Powell walk out the door for nothing. He is an excellent two-way player who fits right into this roster.

In his 27 games for the Blazers, Powell averaged 17.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 44.3 percent from the floor and 36.1 percent from the 3-point line per game.

The one problem for Powell and the Blazers is that he is only 6’3″ and is the small forward for the Blazers alongside Lillard and McCollum, who are also 6’3″. That leaves the Blazers pretty small in the backcourt, but as I said, since they gave up a lot to acquire him, they have to bring him back.

Portland could maybe trade McCollum and then slide Powell up the shooting guard spot, but that doesn’t seem likely at the moment. The small three-guard lineup wasn’t terrible, and maybe now, with a new coach and system, it might be more impactful.

Powell will probably get some three-four-year contract offers close to $15-$20 million per season. The Blazers have Powell’s Bird Rights and can go over the cap line to re-sign him, but if Powell doesn’t want to return, there is nothing the team can do to stop him. And if that number gets towards the $20 million range, Portland could let him walk or try to do a sign and trade.

Hopeful in his short stint when the organization, they convinced him that Portland is the place he wants to be for the foreseeable future. This free-agent decision will be one of the most important ones in this franchise history, and I have no issue saying that for a player who wasn’t even in Rip City for an entire season.