Portland Trail Blazers swingman Arron Afflalo reportedly plans to opt of his contract and test free agency in July. If he were to become a free agent this summer, the Charlotte Hornets and the Chicago Bulls could decide to pursue him again.
Afflalo is ditching Portland after less than half a season, according to Jabari Young of Comcast Sportsnet and a handful of other reports.
"If you believe recent reports, it appears Afflalo nixing (his $7.3 million player option) and becoming an unrestricted free agent is likely," Young wrote Wednesday. "If the Blazers decided to re-sign Matthews, and with the emergence of CJ McCollum, Afflalo would more than likely have to share reserve minutes, something he may not approve.
"Expect the 29-year-old to seek a new deal elsewhere instead of playing on what would be a one-year contract with the Blazers. Usually, unless a ton of money will be forfeited, players opt out of the last year of contracts hoping to secure a long-team deal."
In addition to being able to find a team that will feature him more prominently in the offense, Afflalo avoids playing an uninsured season. If he were to get injured next season, his value in free agency next summer would plummet.
The trade on Feb. 19 that landed him in a Trail Blazers uniform looked like a great move when Afflalo first arrived. He provided production off the bench for Portland, but when moved into a starting role after Wesley Matthews's injury, his production dropped and he never quite got on the same page with Portland's other four starters during their limited number of games together.
As for this summer, Afflalo shouldn't have a difficult time finding a new team. Two clubs to watch are Charlotte and Chicago, both of which were reportedly interested in trading for Afflalo in February.
Afflalo has until June 22 to notify Portland of whether he plans to use his player option.
