NBA Rumors: Arron Afflalo will be opting out of his contract with Portland
The Portland Trail Blazers traded for Arron Afflalo in midseason last year from the Denver Nuggets, and averaged 10.6 points per game on Portland in the half-season.
Last year at the trade deadline, with the team fighting on the brink for playoff contention and needing a wing piece off of the bench, the Portland Trail Blazers traded for Arron Afflalo.
Because Portland can’t have nice things (see Bowie, Sam; Oden, Greg; Roy, Brandon), shooting guard Wesley Matthews tore his left Achilles tendon three weeks later and Afflalo was forced into starting duty as the team’s shooting guard. The team went into a tailspin and got quickly bounced by the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
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Now, it looks like the Era of Arron will be coming to an end.
Per sources, G Arron Afflalo expected to opt out of '15-'16 ($7.75M) to become UFA. Obv key for Portland 2 re-sign w/Wes Matthews rehabbing.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) June 22, 2015
It’s kind of hard to agree with that statement. Certainly it was hard for Afflalo to just step in for Matthews right after being traded, especially since he was enduring a shoulder injury.
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But Afflalo made very little impact for the Trail Blazers, and while he shot efficiently and conducted himself professionally in Portland, the drop off from Matthews for Portland was obvious. Matthews was the ideal 3-and-D wing, spacing the floor on offense and limiting the drive and perimeter shooting of many of their opponents best players.
Afflalo, on the other hand, never was able to control games even in the playoffs when he was the healthiest Trail Blazer. The only way that Afflalo could get shots was with designed plays for him, and when he touched the ball, it killed the Blazers’ ball movement.
He was the average replacement player. The Trail Blazers will need to place faith in someone while Matthews rehabs, but to say that that player needs to be Afflalo is too much of an overreaction.
Perhaps the best option for the Trail Blazers would be to give C.J. McCollum more time at the two guard spot. He doesn’t fit as a shooting guard perfectly, but he has looked like an NBA starter trapped behind star Damian Lillard.
Otherwise, the Blazers will need to grab another wing player in free agency. Afflalo could be a steal for a team if he is undervalued, especially as a bench player who can shoot three pointers and play solid defense. But that doesn’t appear to be the case if he re-signs with the Trail Blazers.
Anyway, the Trail Blazers have been stuck in the limbo of Western Conference middle contention for the past few years. With LaMarcus Aldridge’s possible – in fact even probable – departure, a healthy wing is absolutely key, and that will mean Matthews.