FRIDAY, 10:04am: The Blazers have made their deal with Ezeli official, announcing the signing in a press release.
THURSDAY, 8:36pm: The Trail Blazers and unrestricted free agent Festus Ezeli have come to an agreement on a contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (on Twitter). It will be a two-year deal worth $16MM, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated tweets. The arrangement includes a team option for the second year, Spears adds (via Twitter). Ezeli became an unrestricted free agent after the Warriors renounced his rights earlier this week. He met with team officials on Wednesday in Portland, where things apparently went well.
It remains to be seen what effect inking Ezeli will have on the team’s dealings with restricted free agent Allen Crabbe. The swingman reportedly agreed to a four-year, $70MM offer sheet from the Nets, but a later report noted that no offer had been made. With Brooklyn signing Heat restricted free agent Tyler Johnson to a $50MM offer sheet, it’s unclear if Crabbe remains in the Nets’ plans, or is now viewed as a fallback option if Miami matches the offer to Johnson.
Ezeli saw only 16.7 minutes per game last season, but he made the most of his time, sporting a 17.7 player efficiency rating and averaging 7.0 points and 5.6 rebounds.
And this is why Buss needs to go. He got less than twice of what Mozgod got.
Gonna miss Ezeli in Golden State. It ended in disappointment, but he was a big part of the team. KD signing ended any hope of him coming back. That said, Ezeli’s 2 drawbacks are catching the ball and staying healthy. But if he can do those 2 things, he can help out Portland big time. Improving defender and rebounder who can run the floor very well for a big man. Wonder now how POR big man rotation will be. With Evan Turner coming in, it will likely be Aminu starting at PF and Plumlee starting at C. Davis splits time at backup PF and C and Ezeli plays the remaining minutes at C. Also remains to be seen what POR does with Leonard. Can stretch the floor as a stretch 4/5 and is athletic for someone at 7’1″, but doesn’t post up, offers little to no defense aside from an occasional block, and a poor rebounder. Plus with Aminu at PF and possibly bringing back Harkless, Leonard might be playing for another team next season.
only differences between him and Biyombo have been health, and Ezili has more offensive game (though not necessarily what he is or should be used for). Great deal for Portland
Leonard could go to the Celtics to replace Sullinger. He can’t rebound, but would replace the role of Sullinger on offense, except Leonard would actually be good when utilized in that role.