The Portland Trail Blazers made their first move of the 2025-26 NBA Trade Season on Sunday, sending injured reserve center Duop Reath to the Atlanta Hawks for guard Vit Krejci. Here are some of the ins and outs of the deal and of the player the Blazers are bringing on board.
The contractual implications of this trade are small, but important. Both Reath and Krejci play on bargain deals. Reath is making $2.2 million this season, Krejci $2.35 million.
The critical difference comes in length of contract. Reath’s agreement expires at the end of the year, after which he would become a restricted free agent. Krejci’s contract runs one more season standard at $2.7 million, then moves to a team option in 2027-28 for $3 million.
Presumably the Blazers could have re-signed Reath at the end of the year had they chosen to. He wasn’t playing enough to attract major attention elsewhere or earn a significant raise. If they weren’t planning to do so, there was no reason to retain him, particularly since his current injury was going to keep him out of action.
In Krejci, Portland bought two more years of inexpensive service, plus the surety of a bankable salary heading into next year’s trade environment.
Krejci will become an unrestricted free agent when his current deal ends, but that’s one or two seasons away, depending. Portland doesn’t have to worry about that now. Besides, the same would have applied to Reath down the road had the Blazers re-upped with him.
Portland didn’t lose any real tactical advantage making this move. Its salary-to-production impact will be either neutral or positive, depending on Krejci’s performance.
Two things stand out about Krejci.
First, he’s 6’8 and a guard. This fits with Portland’s motif of long players at each position. He’s not the same kind of hyper-athlete the Blazers are accustomed to, though. He’s more lithe and crafty than speed-, power-, or leaping-oriented.
Krejci can be deceiving, however. He has a surprisingly quick and clear release off the dribble. His best shots come from an off-ball position, but he can step back from distance in a blink and score in the mid-range off the dribble without needing much space. He’s a dangerous jump-shooter. His form is more European than classic, but he’s riding it to great effect.
Right now that looks like a 42.3% success rate from the three-point arc. It’s not a mirage. Krejci has surpassed 40% on long-range shots for the past two seasons and is on his way to doing it again. This year he’s attempted 7 or more three-point shots 16 times. The breakdown looks like this in those outings:
- 40% shooting or higher—11 times
- 35-40% shooting—2 times
- Below 35% shooting—3 times
Clearly, Krejci can get hot and stay hot in any given game.
Those 16 outings of volume shooting account for roughly 1/3 of his total appearances this season. The flip side is that he’s also shot below 30% 16 times. Krejci is just as capable of large cold shooting streaks as hot.
The final breakdown so far reads:
- 20 games shooting 33% or lower beyond the arc
- 25 games shooting 37.5% or higher
- 1 game without a three attempted.
Krejci’s defense isn’t up to the same standards as his shooting, else he wouldn’t have been available, let alone for the price paid by the Blazers (Reath and two second-round picks). Krejci always gives effort. He’s got hard-nosed instincts. He just doesn’t have the twitch reactions or athletic prowess to stay with the league’s better wings. In the brightest timeline he’ll be a decent team defender, but he’s not going to replace Toumani Camara anytime soon.
Krejci can play point guard. He sees the floor and uses space well. His best role might be as a secondary passer on the wing capable of spreading the floor rather than as a pure initiator or ball-control guard. Acquiring him opens up space for the Blazers to maybe trade away another point guard but it doesn’t require them to. He should play well with Deni Avdija or Jrue Holiday, both of whom use the middle of the floor space that Krejci doesn’t, both of whom also need shooters to draw away defensive help.
Krejci is 25 years old, so he’s right in the pocket of Portland’s development plan. Reath was 29, so the Blazers got younger in the deal.
Krejci almost certainly projects to be a bench player. He’s started 8 games for Atlanta this season but 5 of those were among his worst shooting performances of the year, only 1 among his best.
This was a small-but-satisfying move when measured against the entire scope of NBA trades, rising up the scale when Portland’s tailored needs are considered. Reath wasn’t going to do much more for the Blazers than he already had. His tenure with the team may have been coming to a close regardless. Portland can use Krejci’s shooting. A little more guard depth doesn’t hurt them. A couple of second-rounders were a small premium to pay for two extra years on an ultra-cheap contract for a bench player with a willing spirit, plenty of effort, and at least one bankable skill.
Blazers fans are going to like Krejci. Chances are Krejci will like the green-light nature, use of space, and general unselfishness of Portland’s offense as well. This move probably won’t transform the team, but it’s a good match and a good deal.
