Brandon Williams is the kind of player Portland fans can’t help but look at twice now.
He was in a Blazers uniform during the rough 2021-22 season, a rookie who flashed enough to make you notice. In 24 games, he averaged 12.9 points and 3.9 assists, giving Portland a little burst in the middle of a messy year. Then the team moved on, letting him walk after that season.
Now Williams is headed to the Golden State Warriors in free agency after a career year with the Dallas Mavericks, and the timing is what makes this sting for the Blazers. Not only did Portland give up on him once, but Golden State is also a direct rival in the fight for a postseason spot in 2026-27. If Williams turns into a real difference-maker there, that’s a tough one for Rip City to swallow.
His path since leaving Portland has been a slow climb, not an overnight leap. The Blazers signed him in December during their injury-driven tanking stretch, and even in that chaotic setting, he looked composed and productive. Still, Portland waived him in October 2022, a decision that looks a lot worse in hindsight.
After that, Williams spent all of 2022-23 in the G League before getting another NBA shot with Dallas in December 2023. He made the most of it. Over three seasons with the Mavericks, he kept improving until he settled in as a full-time backup.
His biggest national spotlight came during the 2025 Play-In Tournament. Williams scored 17 points in 17 minutes in Dallas’ win over Sacramento in the 9-10 game, then followed it with 16 points and seven assists in a loss to Memphis. That stretch helped set up his 2025-26 breakout, when he averaged 13.0 points and 3.9 assists in 22.2 minutes per game.
What stands out is how he gets it done. Williams is a quick-hit bench scorer with elite ball handling, driving, and finishing ability, the kind of guard who can tilt a second unit with pure pace and craft. He’s built a case as one of the more underrated players in the league.
And if Golden State gives him a bigger runway, the upside is obvious. Williams has the tools to grow into a Sixth-Man-of-the-Year-caliber backup who changes the tempo every time he checks in.
For Portland, that would mean more than just watching an old mistake blossom somewhere else. It would mean dealing with him again, this time in a Warriors jersey, with playoff positioning on the line.
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Blazers Face One Big Question As Dame And Ja Raise Expectations
The early buzz around Portlands 2026-27 outlook is easy to understand. Damian Lillard is back, Ja Morant arrives as a new jolt to the roster, and together they give the Trail Blazers the kind of star power that can change how the rest of the West views them. Even with national projections calling for only a modest step forward, there is a real sense that Portland could move from intriguing to dangerous if the fit comes together.
Shaedon Sharpes absence complicates the picture, though, because the Blazers are trying to build momentum without one of their most explosive young pieces. Various power rankings still place Portland in the same general neighborhood, with the team hovering around the No. 7 seed range and ESPN projecting a 43-win season, so the gap between optimism and expectations remains narrow. For a team trying to make a jump, the question is less about upside than whether the Blazers can translate star talent into something steadier before the calendar turns to the spring. [Read more 🡒]