Free agency is never easy for small market teams, with most players preferring to sign with the bigger franchises if they have the option. But for a team which falls into that category, the Trail Blazers have done okay over the years in this regard, picking up a handful of players who have made significant contributions through the team through this medium. These are ten of the best free agent signings that the Blazers have made throughout the course of their history.
10. Joel Przybilla (2004)
Joel Przybilla is far from the most talented free agent the Blazers have ever picked up, but he provided them with plenty of production. The 7'1″ center had a very limited offensive game and never averaged more than 6.4 points per game across his seven seasons with the team, but he provided an important defensive presence around the rim.
9. Danny Ainge (1990)
Danny Ainge signed with the Blazers in 1990 after eight seasons with the Celtics and two with the Kings, and though he was far less productive than he had been in previous seasons he still played a valuable role on a team which won 63 games and made it through to the Conference Finals. That season, he averaged 11.1 points and 3.6 assists in 21.4 minutes – admittedly well down on his numbers from the seasons prior, but he put together some important performances during their playoff run that year. The next season his minutes and numbers dropped further, though he did contribute to an NBA Finals run.
8. Carmelo Anthony (2019)
After being waived by the Bulls early in 2019, the illustrious career of Carmelo Anthony looked to be heading towards an ignominious end until the Blazers picked him up nine months after he was last on an NBA roster. He was signed on a one-year, non-guaranteed deal, but he did enough throughout that first season to warrant a second one-year contract. In that first season he played 69 games and averaged 15.4 points in 32.8 minutes per game, while shooting 38.5% from three-point range and grabbing 6.3 rebounds. The iso game for which he was so renowned throughout his career had to be thrown to the wayside to an extent, and while he was no superstar for the Blazers he was a solid enough player. After another first round playoff loss the next season, Anthony signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021.
7. Andre Miller (2009)
There are plenty of similarities between the signings of Andre Miller and Carmelo Anthony. Miller joined the Blazers in 2009 at the age of 33 and spent two seasons there, and like Anthony those seasons both resulted in first round playoff exits. Despite his advanced age, Miller was still a solid player for the Blazers – no surprise given his game was never based around athleticism – averaging 14.0 points and 5.4 assists in his first season with the team, and 12.7 points and 7.0 assists in his second. As it turned out, he still had five years left in his lengthy NBA career, but he was shipped off to Denver in 2011.
6. Ruben Patterson (2001)
Ruben Patterson signed with the Blazers in 2001 and would go on to play the next four seasons with the team – and five in total by the time his career came to an end. His numbers never jumped off the page – he maxed out with averages of 11.6 points and 2.0 assists – but the self-proclaimed Kobe Stopper did some damage at the other end of the floor, too. Unfortunately, he was also involved in a number of troubling off-field misdemeanors too, which overshadowed his career to an extent, but in terms of a pure on-court free agent signing he was one of the better ones the Blazers have ever made.
5. Brian Grant (1997)
Following three seasons with the Kings after he was drafted as the eighth pick in the NBA draft, Brian Grant joined the Blazers and would go on to become a reliable part of their team during a relatively successful period for the team. In total he played in Portland for three seasons; in all of those the team made the playoffs, and in the second and third they made it through to the Conference Finals. Grant averaged close to a double-double in each of his first two seasons with the team, but was moved to the bench in his third and subsequently sought greener pastures elsewhere in 2000.
4. Kenny Anderson (1996)
Kenny Anderson only played with the Trail Blazers for a season and a half, but he was a really good player for them during that time. The talented point guard had plenty of tricks, and used them to help the Blazers to 49 wins in his first season with the team. In that season he put together some solid numbers, averaging 17.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists, and a standout game came when he led Portland to their solitary win in the postseason against the Lakers with 30 points and five assists. Unfortunately, his run with the team was relatively limited; the next season, after 45 games and with averages of just 12.6 points and 5.4 assists, he was traded to the Toronto Raptors
3. Dave Twardzik (1976)
Dave Twardzik didn't have a long career in the NBA, nor was he the most established player to ever grace a court, but despite that he still made his mark on the Trail Blazers franchise during the four years he played for the team. Those were his only four years in the league, with the four years prior to his signing with Portland taking place in the ABA for the Virginia Squires and injury bringing about his premature retirement in 1980. In his first season with the Blazers, he averaged 10.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists, but though those numbers don't jump off the page, his presence in the top three on the list comes from the fact that the team won their first and to this date only championship that season. He started in every game in the first two series of those playoffs and was incredibly consistent, scoring at least 13 points, dishing out at least three assists and grabbing at least one steal in every one of those games. Over his next three seasons with the team his output was similar albeit with less team success, but courtesy of his role in their championship his name will forever be etched into the annals of Trail Blazers history.
2. Wesley Matthews (2010)
After being picked up by the Jazz at 23 and playing just one season in the NBA, the Trail Blazers put their faith in Wes Matthews by signing him to a five-year deal worth $34 million. That faith turned out to be justified, as he went on to become one of the best free agent signings that the franchise have ever made. Matthews was the quintessential three-and-d guy, shooting at least 38.3% from three in each of his five seasons with the team while also providing lockdown defense on a nightly basis at the other end of the floor. He wasn't just a shooter, either, and averaged between 13.7 and 16.4 points per year across those five years, as well as a handful of rebounds and a couple of assists. Matthews consistency across those years was unparalleled, and when he left it was after a playoff run of two consecutive seasons which would ultimately stretch out to eight. Nearly a decade later, Matthews is still kicking around in the league, but it was in Portland where he put together the most consistent stretch of his career.
1. Rod Strickland (1992)
Rod Strickland's time with the Trail Blazers wasn't synonymous with success for the franchise, but that was certainly no fault of his own. He joined in 1992 following their NBA Finals loss earlier that year, and went on to play four terrific seasons with the franchise as they transitioned from a contender to a team making up the number in the playoffs – they lost in the first round in each of his four seasons with the team. But despite that decline, Strickland was a shining light. In his first season there he averaged 13.7 points and 7.2 assists per game, and that was his worst while in Portland. In each of the next three he would average at least 17.2 points and 8.8 assists, while also grabbing close to two steals per game. The team might not have had the success that they wanted in the postseason during Strickland's tenure, but that does nothing to take away from the fact that this was the best free agent signing the Blazers have ever made.
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