David Aldridge has reported that Blazers guard Arron Afflalo wll opt out of his contract for the upcoming NBA season. Afflalo's contract was worth $7.75 million, but he will now become an unrestricted free agent.
The Portland Trail Blazers acquired Afflalo to bolster their bench with a mid-season trade. The Blazers traded G/F Will Barton and F/C Thomas Robinson to the Denver Nuggets in return for Alonzo Gee and Arron Afflalo. The Nuggets dropped Thomas Robinson, who was quickly signed by the Philadelphia 76ers. Will Barton has played exceptionally well for the Nuggets since the trade, and has recieved much more playing time.
Afflalo was poised to help the Blazers make a championship run, backing up Wesley Matthews, however Matthews went down just a week after the trade to a ruptured achilles. Afflalo struggled to find a niche on the Blazers roster, and eventually suffered an injury to the shoulder, sidelining him as well. Afflalo averaged 10.6 points per game with the Blazers.
Afflalo returned in time for the Blazers first round matchup against the Grizzlies, but he had a hard time scoring, and his defense was nothing better than average. Afflalo shot an atrocious 16% in the playoffs for the Blazers, averaging just 1.7 points. CJ McCollum stepped in, and showed why he deserved the Blazer's lottery pick two years ago. He would play exceptionally well, and Afflalo's role became marginal. The Blazers went on to lose the series in 5 games.
With Afflalo opting out of his contract, the Blazers desperately need to re-sign Wesley Matthews. They cannot afford any more blows to their team's depth, which they have fought to improve over the last few seasons.