The Portland Trail Blazers will have an extra month (or so) to decide whether they want to keep backup shooting guard Pat Connaughton.

The team and Connaughton agreed on Monday to delay the guarantee date of his 2017-18 contract. The Blazers, who were originally facing a 2 p.m. Tuesday deadline, now have until Aug. 31 to decide if they want to guarantee Connaughton's contract for the regular season.

The move gives the Blazers more than five weeks of additional flexibility with their 15th roster spot, which could be meaningful since the other 14 players on their roster feature guaranteed contracts. In addition to a trade, the Blazers now have an extended window to use the taxpayer mid-level exception and sign a free agent for up to nearly $5.2 million.

Connaughton is set to make $1.4 million next season, but would cost the Blazers roughly $4.7 million because they are well over the luxury tax threshold. Connaughton played just 39 games last season, his second in the NBA, averaging 2.5 points, 1.3 rebounds and 8.1 minutes per game. Earlier this month at the Las Vegas Summer League, Connaughton played two-plus games before injuring his left hamstring and missing the rest of the Blazers' run to the championship game.

In what was supposed to be an important two weeks, Connaughton averaged 6.0 points, 4.3 assists and 2.0 rebounds and struggled from the field, making just 8 of 22 shots.

Connaughton has repeatedly said his goal is to remain with the Blazers and carve out a larger role. But if things don't work out in Portland, he has a fallback option -- joining the Baltimore Orioles, who drafted him in 2014,

Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman