Blazers Lose Forward to East Squad in Free Agency

The Trail Blazers have lost one of their young forwards to another team.

Apr 9, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz center Micah Potter (25) is boxed out beneath the basket by Portland Trail Blazers forward Kris Murray (24) and forward Jabari Walker (34) in the first half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images | Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images

The Portland Trail Blazers have a few guys that other teams have had interest in for a while. They haven't made a ton of moves yet, with their biggest move being a trade for Jrue Holiday that shipped Anfernee Simons out of town.

Other than that, they have stood pat as far as roster additions go. They bought out Deandre Ayton to make room for incoming center Yang Hansen.

On Thursday night, the Blazers did lose a young forward to an Eastern Conference foe who played 188 games for them in the last three seasons.

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Portland lost forward Jabari Walker to the 76ers, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. He signed a two-way deal with Philly.

Free agent forward Jabari Walker has agreed to a two-way NBA deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, source tells ESPN. Walker spent his first three NBA seasons in Portland, appearing in 188 games.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 4, 2025

Walker was someone who got some playing time this season because of all the injuries that the Blazers had. He was able to show what he could do to everyone else in the league.

Walker has played quite a bit for the Blazers in the last three years, but Portland didn't think that he was going to fit into their long-term plans. That's why they let him go.

It's a little surprising that Walker didn't get a guaranteed deal with Philadelphia. He is better than a two-way player, even on a team that fancies itself as a contender in the Eastern Conference.

The Trail Blazers have too many young guys on the roster, so they are trying to parse through their roster and figure out who to continue to build around.

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The Blazers have decided that they'd rather give more minutes to Tounmani Camara, which makes sense. He seems like a player that they can build around, along with some of the other high draft picks.

Walker will now get a chance to earn a roster spot with the 76ers. He's still incredibly young, so he still has a lot of time to grow into a role where he can earn a permanent rotation spot on a team.

This past season with the Blazers, he averaged 5.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game.

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For more news and notes on the Portland Trail Blazers, visit Portland Trail Blazers on SI.