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One day after their shocking trade for Ja Morant, the Trail Blazers have secured their most important in-house free agent. Robert Williams III has agreed to re-sign in Portland on a three-year, $44 million deal, a league source confirmed. ESPN first reported the news.
Williams had by far his healthiest and most productive season with the Blazers in 2025-26. After playing just 26 games combined in his first two years in Portland dealing with the chronic knee issues that have plagued him since his days in Boston, he played in 59 games last year and was highly impactful in his role as Donovan Clingan's primary backup.
The Blazers' medical staff had Williams under a strict injury management plan that involved not playing on back-to-backs and limiting his minutes in the high teens or low 20s per game.
"Even going back to last offseason, the program they put together for me, I think it went good," Williams said at his end-of-season exit interview in April. "Made it through the season. Now, just hoping to build off that."
Williams said now that he's been able to get through an entire season healthy, his goal for next season is to eliminate the minutes restriction and be able to play on back-to-backs, which he hasn't done since he arrived in Portland.
"This year was just like, 'Let me see if I can get through it,'" Williams said in April. "That's why I'm so thankful. I withstood a lot of stuff, showed a lot of strength in my body, from working out in the weight room to playing on the court. Now I'm looking to build off it."
After agreeing to re-sign Williams today and trading Jerami Grant and Kris Murray for Morant on Monday, the Blazers now have 12 players under contract for next season and roughly $14 million in room under the luxury tax. They could open up an additional $5 million by waiving Vít Krejčí and Sidy Cissoko before their guarantee dates this summer, but both of them are valued depth pieces, so that appears unlikely.
They still have decisions to make on two more of their own free agents, Matisse Thybulle and Blake Wesley. Thybulle feels more likely to be back than Wesley, especially after the Morant trade added yet another point guard to a roster that already includes Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson.
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