This summer, 29 teams will find themselves jealous of the team that employs Arron Afflalo.
And there it is. We've officially made that Kendrick Lamar reference too many times. Sorry. Moving on.
It's widely expected that Afflalo will decline his $7.5-million player option for the 2015-16 season in order to become an unrestricted free agent. The idea would be for the 29-year-old to secure more long-term money in doing so, even if his annual salary comes in somewhere south of that amount.
It was reported on Friday that Afflalo had decided to do just that, creating even greater uncertainty around the immediate future of the Portland Trail Blazers. But saying Afflalo has made that decision firmly is "premature," according to a report from Joe Freeman of The Oregonian.
It remains Afflalo's most likely course of action, but it's possible that he surveys the free agent landscape and decides to play out the option year. The primary reason for doing so would be so that he hits free agency when the salary cap rises significantly in 2016, complete with his Bird rights and while he's still 30 years old.
He may only get one more sizable long-term contract and delaying it a year until the cap spikes may be the best way for him to maximize his total earnings. That's anything but a certainty and would represent an appreciable risk, but it remains possible until Afflalo officially opts out between now and the end of June.
Acquired from the Denver Nuggets at the trade deadline, Afflalo should have a market as a capable two-position defender who can help space the floor. While he wasn't terrific after landing in Portland, he's averaged 15.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists with a 38.1-percent mark from outside over the last five seasons.
