The Portland Trail Blazers will likely guarantee the $12.9 million salary owed to Josh Hart for next season, which would eliminate them from a major potential free agency signing.

The Blazers have a deadline of June 25th to guarantee Hart's contract, which is several days before the start of free agency.

The Blazers have a $20.9 million trade exception from their trade of CJ McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers are looking to retool their rosters this offseason. That has both teams reportedly looking at trading for OG Anunoby of the Toronto Raptors.

Anunoby hasn't directly expressed dissatisfaction with his role in Toronto, but executives around the league have heard he would be open to trade. Anunoby is reportedly unhappy with his role in the Raptors offense that heavily featured Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and rookie Scottie Barnes.

Utah and Toronto have been previously linked via trade rumors around Rudy Gobert. Those discussions have never yielded anything, and it's unclear if that's a direction the Raptors would want to go.

Portland is set up to be very flexible this summer. The Blazers could create over $30 million in cap space, or they can operate as an over-the-cap team and use their $20.8 million trade exception. Either way, they'd be well-positioned to add Anunoby, as they rebuild their roster around Damian Lillard.

The Portland Trail Blazers have hired Sergi Olivia as assistant general manager.

Olivia has worked as an assistant coach with the Utah Jazz over the past two seasons. Previously, Olivia worked as VP of Strategy with the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Blazers have hired three assistant general managers over the past four months as Olivia joins Andre Patterson and Mike Schmitz. 

Mike Schmitz is finalizing a deal to become an assistant general manager with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Schmitz has been working with ESPN as an NBA draft analyst after previously working for Draft Express.

Schmitz will play a significant role with Joe Cronin in leading Portland's domestic and international scouting departments. 

The Portland Trail Blazers have parted ways with assistant general manager Bill Branch.

Branch joined the Blazers in 2010 along with Rich Cho.

Branch worked for the Denver Nuggets from 1997 until joining the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2007.

The Portland Trail Blazers are expected to be sold within the next six to 18 months, largely due to the way Paul Allen's trust was crafted.

“Paul directed that the trust be liquidated upon his death and the assets used to fund his passion projects,” a source said. “None of this is up in the air. The instructions are clear: The sports franchises and everything in the trust must be sold.”

Allen passed away in October 2018 with his sister, Jody Allen, put in charge of his estate.

Bert Kolde, the vice chair of the Blazers, has been put in charge of the auction of the late Allen’s beloved NBA franchise. Kolden's target price for the Blazers is $3 billion.

Larry Ellison, MacKenzie Scott and Laurene Powell-Jobs have been mentioned as possible majority owners.

“Keep an eye on the losing bidders in the Broncos auction,” one source said. “There are a limited number of billionaire bidders and private-equity firms. The firm in charge of the auction will build a book. That book will be seen by very few eyes.”

The Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons and Portland Trail Blazers are the three teams most often linked to a potential pursuit of Deandre Ayton in restricted free agency.

The Charlotte Hornets and San Antonio Spurs are also logical fits for Ayton.

The Phoenix Suns decided not to offer a five-year, $170 million max contract to Ayton last offseason and they also quietly gauged his trade value at the deadline. One structure that was discussed was with the Indiana Pacers for Domantas Sabonis.

Some around the league believe Monty Williams has been frustrated by Ayton's "waning focus" and has contributed to inconsistent playing time. 

The Suns may simply not view Ayton, or any center, as worth more than $30 million per season. Phoenix could then be amenable to a sign-and-trade for frontcourt help at a more affordable number. 

One "prominent member" of Portland Trail Blazers front office viewed Miles Bridges and Cody Martin as potential acquisitions, sources told Ian Begley of SNY.

Both players are restricted free agents with the Hornets. 

The 24-year-old Bridges averaged 20.2 points and 7.0 points last season. The 26-year-old Martin chipped in with 7.7 points and 4.0 rebounds. 

The Blazers have the seventh pick in the upcoming draft, though they are seen as one of the teams most likely to trade their pick to aid a playoff run. 

The Sacramento Kings were one of the big winners at the NBA Draft Lottery, as they jumped up to the fourth overall pick. The Portland Trail Blazers slid back a selection, while the New Orleans Pelicans held pat with the pick they got from the Los Angeles Lakers.

What those three have in common is that all are seen as teams likely to consider trading their picks for win-now veteran help.

The Kings desperately want to snap their 16-year playoff drought. If they can move the fourth overall pick to bring in a veteran to aid in a playoff push, it's something Sacramento is expected to strongly consider.

Portland is resetting their roster after not trading Damian Lillard and is known to be looking for veteran help. New Orleans is hoping to make a push up the standings with a healthy roster next season. Both teams would like to add players to help in a playoff push, as opposed to selecting a developmental prospect in the middle of the lottery.

The Orlando Magic have won the 2022 NBA Draft Lottery for the fourth time in franchise history. 

Some combination of Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero are expected to be the top-3 selections in the draft. ESPN's Jonathan Givony projects Smith going No. 1 to the Magic, followed by Holmgren to the Thunder, Banchero to the Rockets, Shaedon Sharpe to the Kings, and Keegan Murray to the Pistons. 

1. Magic

2. Thunder

3. Rockets

4. Kings

5. Pistons

6. Pacers

7. Blazers

8. Pelicans (via LAL)

9. Spurs

10. Wizards

11. Knicks

12. Thunder (via LAC)

13. Hornets

14. Cavaliers