The Portland Trail Blazers set out to contend for the 2025-26 season, as evidenced by their trade for Jrue Holiday, a win-now move for a veteran guard. They currently have an 8-10 record at the time of writing, which has them in ninth place in the Western Conference. That is good enough for a play-in tournament spot in the meantime, and the Blazers will be looking forward to improved play once they get back key pieces from injury.

But the Blazers have some depth issues to deal with if they were to contend in the loaded West. They at least have some pieces to try and trade away if they were to pursue some depth upgrades. One of those pieces who could end up being on the trade block is Robert Williams III, the oft-injured big man who's in the final year of his contract.

With Williams being an expiring deal, the Blazers reportedly have shown more willingness to trade him away, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer. This is in contrast to the Blazers' stance last year where they were holding out for a huge return in any potential Williams trade.

It is quite odd that a team with depth issues would want to trade away a rotation piece like Williams. The Blazers do have other centers, such as Duop Reath and 2025 first-round pick Yang Hansen, on the roster to back up Donovan Clingan, but WIlliams is cementing himself as a key cog for interim head coach Tiago Splitter's squad.

There should remain plenty of interest in Williams as a rim-running, rim-protecting big who won't require a long-term commitment on any team's books.

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Robert Williams III's Blazers tenure may be coming to an end

Blazers' Robert Williams III
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The Blazers acquired Williams as part of the trade that sent Holiday to the Boston Celtics back in 2023. Since then, Williams has only suited up in 38 games in a Blazers uniform, which is a bit of a concern for any team looking to trade for him in the past.

But now, Williams is in the final year of his contract making $13.3 million. Alas, while teams will inevitably be registering interest in him, it's hard to pinpoint which contender could use his services at the moment.