Let’s take a trip back in time. It’s 2016, right smack in the middle of February — the NBA trade deadline. The Portland Trail Blazers were $14 million under the league’s minimum cap threshold, meaning that unpaid money would be divided amongst the current roster if a move wasn’t made. President of basketball operations Neil Olshey used this opportunity to make the most of their financial situation.
On that day, Portland acquired the contracts of Anderson Varejão ($9.6 million) and Brian Roberts ($2.8 million) of the Miami Heat in exchange for some draft capital.