Trail Blazers Claim Micah Potter Off Waivers

Indiana released Potter on Wednesday to make room beneath its first-apron hard cap to sign veteran forward/center Larry Nance Jr.

Following stints with Detroit and Utah, Potter appeared in a career-high 47 games in 2025/26 in his fifth NBA season, emerging as a rotation player for a Pacers team hit hard by injuries. The 28-year-old averaged 9.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 19.3 minutes per contest, posting an excellent .515/.423/.842 shooting line.

Indiana’s deal with the 6’9″ center included a $2.8MM team option for 2026/27, which the club exercised last week, but the terms of the agreement called for that salary to remain non-guaranteed even after the option was picked up. That will remain the case for Portland after the team claimed Potter’s contract off waivers.

Since Potter is on a minimum-salary contract, any team with enough cap room had the ability to place a claim on him using the minimum salary exception. The Blazers chose to take a closer look at Potter as a floor-spacing depth option in the middle.

Portland also has Donovan Clingan, Robert Williams III, Yang Hansen and Branden Carlson at center, but Williams has a lengthy injury history and Hansen and Carlson are relatively unproven at the NBA level. Potter could be competing with Carlson to make the final roster, though Carlson’s minimum-salary contract for 2026/27 is fully guaranteed, Hoops Rumors can confirm.

While Potter is a skilled shooter and understands the game well, he’s not great at locking down the paint, having allowed opponents to shoot 68.3% at the rim in ’25/26. He’s also not particularly mobile defensively despite being a little undersized for a stretch five.

Still, it’s a low-risk flyer for Portland. Potter’s salary will remain non-guaranteed until the league-wide salary guarantee deadline in January, so if the Blazers need a little extra cap room or decide not to carry him on the regular season roster, he could still be waived without leaving any money on the team’s books.