NBA Rumors: 3 Portland Trail Blazers Who Won't Be Back Next Season

A 15-game improvement is nothing to sneeze at. At least the young Portland Trail Blazers are headed in the right direction. A 36-46 finish this season left them just three games back of a Play-In berth, so things are on the up-and-up for Deni Avdija, Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson.

But this will be another offseason of change as the Trail Blazers look to take the next steps. Let's have a look at three players who won't (or at least shouldn't?) be back with the team in 2025-26.

Anfernee Simons

The backcourt is in good hands going into the future with breakout young star Shaedon Sharpe at shooting guard, and former No. 2 overall pick Scoot Henderson making some progress at the point. Simons has just one year left on his contract at $27.6 million, and the Blazers will try hard to trade him this summer. He'll certainly have some value as an expiring contract, and a 20-point scorer. It just doesn't fit for the future in Portland.

Jerami Grant

At the deadline, it was reported by insider Sean Highkin that Grant is "probably the one they're most motivated to trade, but they'll have to decide if the market is worth it." With three more years to run on a massive contract worth an average of $34 million annually, the return likely won't be great, but it makes no sense for the rebuilding Blazers to be paying the 31-year-old for three more seasons. They'll likely take what they can get.

Deandre Ayton

The former first-overall pick missed half the season due to injury, and when he does play, he just isn't the impact big man the Blazers were hoping for when they dealt for him from Phoenix two years ago. He doesn't provide any rim protection or floor spacing, two staples for the typical center in the NBA these days, and sometimes, the 'get up and go' seems to have 'got up and went' for Ayton. He, too, like Simons, will be on an expiring contract, though a little more hefty, at $35 million.