Last summer, the Brooklyn Nets offered Restricted Free Agent Allen Crabbe a four-year offer sheet worth $75 million. The Portland Trail Blazers matched the offer then, but have now traded Crabbe to the Nets for Andrew Nicholson, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Portland has traded Allen Crabbe to Brooklyn for Andrew Nicholson, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 25, 2017
Sources: Crabbe waiving trade kicker. Also: Portland, Nets had to wait one year from matching of Crabbe's $75M offer sheet to execute deal. https://t.co/1gmXcLPYTF
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 25, 2017
Nicholson will be waived and stretched:
Portland will waive and stretch Nicholson's contract, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 25, 2017
This is a move solely to clear cap space for Portland, while the Nets finally get their guy. This likely means that the Blazers have some sort of move planned that requires cap space that they didn’t have. Keep your eyes peeled for a Carmelo Anthony trade, although not necessarily one that would send him to Portland; the more likely scenario is that the Trail Blazers take on Ryan Anderson’s salary in exchange for a couple of draft picks, and Anthony gets sent to Houston.
Crabbe, 6-foot-6, is primarily a shooting guard but can slide to the small forward position. With Jeremy Lin and D’Angelo Russell in the backcourt, Crabbe will likely either start at the three or come off the bench.
Crabbe shot 44.4 percent from three-point range last season, the second-best mark in the NBA.
