NBA free agency began Sunday, and as expected, the Portland Trail Blazers didn’t make any moves.

The Blazers, following last week’s NBA draft, have the maximum allowed 15 players under contract for next season, sit above the salary cap, do not want to land in the tax, and have no intentions of seeking impact players who could help them win games next season.

The Blazers’ goal is to focus on developing young talent with the expectation of landing in the NBA lottery for the fourth consecutive season to get a shot at drafting forward Cooper Flagg.

The 6-foot-8 Flagg, who will play next season at Duke, is the projected No. 1 pick in what has been called an extremely deep draft.

Trading away as much veteran talent as possible would help the Blazers’ cause. Guard Malcolm Brogdon was dealt last week. Forward Jerami Grant and guard Anfernee Simons could be next.

Grant has four years remaining on his contract, paying him $32 million next season. Simons’ contract has two years remaining and he will be paid $25.9 million next season.

An NBA source has told The Oregonian/OregonLive that it’s highly likely that at least one of the two will not be on the roster by next season.

Rumors persist that Grant is being shopped around. Anthony F. Irwin of LakersDaily.com reported Sunday that the Lakers and Blazers have been in “consistent talks on a deal for Jerami Grant,” saying he “wouldn’t call it particularly imminent but the sides have definitely been active most of today.”

The Dallas Mavericks have also been linked to Grant.

Portland trading guard Anfernee Simons at some point between now and next summer is likely a lock.

Blazers general manager Joe Cronin, using the No. 7 pick in Wednesday’s draft to select center Donovan Clingan, said his goal was to continue building around guards Scoot Henderson, 20, and Shaedon Sharpe, 21.

Simons, 25, is better than both but does not appear to be a focal point of the team’s rebuild. Therefore, the Blazers should seek to trade him for players who better fit around Sharpe and Henderson. Simons moving on to a team that values him long-term would be better for his career.

Cronin traded CJ McCollum at the 2022 trade deadline to create an opportunity for Simons. Now, the goal appears to be to trade Simons to create more opportunities for Henderson and Sharpe.

SALARY CAP SITUATION

The NBA’s new salary cap for next season has been set at $140.588 million with a minimum payroll requirement of $126.5 million.

The Blazers payroll for next season is $163.9 million.

The first tax level is $170.8 million.

The Blazers want to avoid entering the tax, especially for a team designed to rank among the worst. They helped their cause by trading away Brogdon and his $22 million salary - plus two first-round picks (No. 14 this year) and two future second-round picks - to Washington for forward Deni Avdija.

The 6-foot-9 Avdija comes with a team-friendly deal, which can’t be officially announced until Saturday. The Wizards signed him to a four-year $55 million contract extension last October. He will make $15.6 million next season.

The Blazers have the following exceptions to play with to sign players while over the cap:

Mid-level exception: $12.9 million.

Bi-annual exception: $4.5 million.

Trade exception: $8.8 million.

The Blazers would likely only seek to use mid-level or bi-annual exceptions should they make a deal in which more players leave than come in.

-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook)