The Portland Trail Blazers may be finished shopping for outside free agents, but their roster still looks like a work in progress. The real movement now is more likely to come from inside the building, where three players are sitting on non-guaranteed deals and fighting for their spots before opening night.
Deni Avdija isn’t part of that group, but Kris Krejci, Duane Washington Jr. and Jerami Sochan are the names to watch as Portland sorts out its final roster decisions.
Krejci arrived in Portland earlier in the calendar year in a trade from the Atlanta Hawks for Duop Reath, and the Blazers brought him in with real hope that he could help solve their three-point shooting issues. That part never really clicked. In 19 appearances with Portland during the 2025-26 season, Krejci hit just 30.3 percent of his threes, a sharp drop from the nearly 42 percent he shot over four seasons in Atlanta.
There is still a path for Krejci to stick. A full offseason with the Blazers could help settle him in and make him more comfortable with the current setup.
Financially, Portland has plenty of flexibility with him as well. He is guaranteed only $250,000 of his $2.6 million salary going into the season.
He was originally set to make $0, but being on the roster on Aug. 1 locked in that $250,000 figure. If he remains on the roster by opening night, the full salary becomes guaranteed, which means the Blazers could clear about $2 million by moving on from him in camp.
The fact that Portland kept him past Aug. 1 points toward a real chance he stays put, though nothing is settled yet. Between now and the start of the season, that situation is still worth monitoring.
Potter, meanwhile, was picked up off waivers after Indiana cut him on July 8. His deal only runs one year, and it won’t become guaranteed until Jan. 10, so there’s no urgency for the Blazers to make a decision on him right away.
He should get an early-season look as a reserve big man, but he’ll need to defend better than he did in Indiana if he wants to hang onto the job. Potter will be in the mix for minutes with Donovan Clingan, Robert Williams III, Yang Hansen and Branden Carlson.
Sochan is the newest addition, having signed with Portland on Aug. 2. His Exhibit 9 contract only ensures he’ll be with the team for training camp, and if he gets hurt before the regular season begins, he would receive an injury settlement.
There is a path for his deal to be converted into a standard contract, but he has to show Portland he’s worth the investment. Right now, Sochan looks like the most likely of the three to miss the opening-night roster, and the Blazers are expected to leave at least one spot open. He has real upside as a former top-10 pick, but he’s currently on the outside of Portland’s projected roster picture.
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How Morant and Lillard share the floor is the question that hangs over the group, especially with defensive impact already a concern and the guard rotation likely to require some hard choices. Micah Nori is working through those adjustments as the Blazers get ready for the season, and the real test may not be whether the talent is there, but whether Portland can turn all of it into something coherent when the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
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Morants availability has been a talking point after his recent injury history, while Hendersons path is tied to his role as a bench player and how much responsibility he can handle when the rotation is tightened. Holiday also enters a different conversation after years as a fixture in a starting group, and Portland has to decide whether his value is best used in a smaller role or in the kind of steadying presence that has defined his career. For a team trying to make all the pieces fit, the real challenge may be less about talent than about finding a balance that keeps the backcourt from becoming a nightly guessing game. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Still Have A Costly Roster Crunch Coming Soon
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Even so, the accounting does not stay clean for long. Projections now point to Oklahoma City moving back above the luxury tax apron by nearly $19 million in 2027-28, with payroll climbing past $400 million even before a new deal for Cason Wallace is factored in. For a contender that is trying to stay ahead of the leagues harshest penalties, the question is less whether the roster is talented enough and more how long the front office can keep paying for it. [Read more 🡒]