Thomas Robinson has been up and down with Portland. At one point last season he fell completely out of their front court rotation (Meyers Leonard got the burn instead) but when pressed into action later in the season as a backup center due to injuries he looked solid. However Chris Kaman on the roster now Robinson’s minutes are going to be limited this season.
All of which was enough for Portland not to pick up his option, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.The Portland Trail Blazers will let forward Thomas Robinson become an unrestricted free agent next summer, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
The Blazers declined to pick up the fourth-year option – worth $4.6 million – on Robinson’s deal on Monday.
This was not a surprise at all.
Robinson is very athletic and is a force on the on the glass, but there are a lot of holes in his game. Offensively he doesn’t finish that well inside, while defensively he has some spectacular blocks but opposing players (particularly centers) shoot a high percentage against him.
He’ll get a contract offer from some team next summer, but unless he shows an improving game it will not be for the kind of money a former No. 5 pick (taken ahead of Damian Lillard) would expect.