Ranking best Robert Williams III trade destinations as Blazers struggle

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The 2024-25 season is shaping up to be another lost one for the Portland Trail Blazers, and for the fourth consecutive year, they are expected to finish at or near the bottom of the Western Conference standings — which would give them another prospect to build around in their rebuild. To that end, it is expected that the Blazers will play a prominent part in this year’s trade deadline — with Robert Williams III expected to be shopped around the league.

Williams has two years left on his deal worth $25.7 million, which makes him quite a bargain for the quality of his production. But as the old adage goes, the best ability is availability, and the 27-year-old center simply hasn’t been able to shake off the injury bug in recent seasons. He missed all but six games of the 2023-24 season with a major knee injury, and upon his return this season, he’s dealt with load management and a concussion — with the latter keeping him out of action at the moment.

That is the biggest question mark surrounding Williams, although given his upside, there might be a few teams out there that’s willing to take on him in hopes that his injury luck will take a turn for the better soon.

3. Houston Rockets

There may be bigger fish for the Rockets to fry on the trade market; they have been linked with stars such as Kevin Durant and Jimmy Butler since the offseason in the aftermath of re-acquiring their first-round picks, and it makes sense for Houston to up their championship equity with a bold win-now move considering how good their young core already is.

But Rockets general manager Rafael Stone has been adamant about maintaining the team’s continuity, and rightfully so. They have a 17-8 record, which is good for second in the West at the moment, and the worst thing to do in this situation may be to cut roster-building corners. There is plenty of risk in such a maneuver, especially in a trade for Butler, who is already 35 years of age and has been injury-prone over the past few years.

However, this doesn’t mean that the Rockets simply must do nothing to improve the roster. Young teams are rarely this good, and there may be an opportunity to round out the roster without gutting the team’s core pieces. And with that, Robert Williams III could be a worthwhile trade target for Houston.

Backup center has been a bit of a pain point for the Rockets this season; Steven Adams isn’t back to his old form, and Jock Landale, while he has his merits, isn’t the kind of center that’s suited for playoff basketball. Houston has been going small whenever Alperen Sengun needs to rest, with Jabari Smith Jr. mainly filling the role of backup center.

With Williams, the Rockets can up the quality of their defense even further; the defense of bench units with Williams, Amen Thompson, and Tari Eason will be a nightmare to deal with. And with his salary of $12.4 million, the Rockets only need to build a trade offer around Adams — greasing the wheels even further.

2. Indiana Pacers

Defense has long been a weak spot for the Pacers. This season is no different. At present, they rank 24th in defensive rating, allowing 116.0 points per 100 possessions. For a team with contending aspirations, this simply will not cut it, especially when their offense hasn’t yet clicked this season.

The problem is that the Pacers have non-existent big-man depth. They are literally relying on Obi Toppin to function as the backup center, and that is simply a recipe for defensive disaster. Isaiah Jackson is out for the season, making it an urgent need for Indiana to address their frontcourt woes.

It will be hard for the Pacers to match salaries to bring in Robert Williams III, however. They will have to give up Jarace Walker in such a trade, and giving up on Walker, the eighth overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, at this point feels a bit too early. Figuring out the risk-reward calculus will be the Pacers’ M.O. for the next few or so weeks.

1. Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers’ passiveness has run its course. Despite their promising start, the Lakers have been realizing that their current roster won’t be getting them anywhere far. And for a team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading the way, this simply cannot be the case.

They have a ton of needs to address. They need a better secondary ballhandler/shot-creator than D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves and they need a defensive stopper as well. But it might be easier for the Purple and Gold to address the team’s biggest weakness — defense — by adding a big man that could come at a discount in Robert Williams III thanks to his injury history.

Jarred Vanderbilt, a man as frequently seen on the court as Bigfoot himself, could be the main piece going to the Blazers in a Williams trade, with Jalen Hood-Schifino also being given an opportunity to play for a rebuilding team.

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