The Portland Trail Blazers made a splash earlier this week by trading for Ja Morant. But Tuesday morning brought another big move: they locked up their backup center before he could test the open market.
Robert Williams III agreed to a three-year, $44 million contract extension to stay in Portland through the 2028-29 season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The deal comes just hours before NBA free agency officially tips off at 6:00 pm ET Tuesday.
A healthy Williams is a valuable Williams
The 2025-26 season was a quietly important one for Williams. After multiple knee surgeries threatened to derail his career, he stayed mostly healthy for the Blazers and reminded everyone why he was a starting center for the 2022 Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics.
He’s not quite the player some projected he’d become after that Celtics run, but he doesn’t have to be. Williams still protects the paint, crashes the offensive glass with real energy, and finishes lobs. That’s a solid skillset for a backup big man who can eat minutes behind rookie Donovan Clingan.
Williams was expected to draw serious interest in free agency, so bringing him back on a deal that feels team-friendly is a win for the Blazers front office. The contract averages about $14.6 million per year, which for a reliable rotation center in today’s NBA is pretty fair.
What the Morant trade means next
The Morant deal sent Jerami Grant and Kris Murray to Memphis. Some fans and analysts wondered if that move was a precursor to something bigger — maybe a Jaylen Brown trade with the Celtics. Nothing has materialized there yet, and it’s unclear what else Portland’s front office has cooking.
But Tuesday’s move makes one thing clear: the Blazers like what they’ve got in their big man rotation. And they were willing to pay to keep it intact before free agency even started.
Leave a Comment