The Portland Trail Blazers may have just found the bargain deal of the offseason. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of the Vertical, the team has agreed to terms on a new deal with Festus Ezeli.
Source: Festus Ezeli's two-year deal with Blazers will be worth $16M.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) July 8, 2016
The former Golden State Warriors center will be signing in Portland for two years, and a total of $16 million. Marc Spears of The Undefeated also reports that the Blazers have a team option on the second year of the deal.
Festus Ezeli's Blazers deal is actually $7.4 million the first year with a team option of $7.33 million in the second year, a source said.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) July 8, 2016
The Blazers’ biggest move in the offseason up to this point had been signing Evan Turner.
Ezeli was one of the more sought after free agents before the end of last season. However, a mostly poor postseason (especially in the Finals) performance hurt his chances at a massive payday.
Perhaps more importantly, Ezeli’s health history is a concern. The big man has had knee issues and has missed plenty of games with injuries. The concerns may have been even larger than previously thought, considering the terms of this deal.
Nevertheless, it appeared like Ezeli wanted to play in Portland. He met with the Blazers recently and spoke about trying to make something work with the organization. It appears that the Blazers and Festus Ezeli did just that.
