The Portland Trail Blazers have lost out on quite a few of their targeted free agents this offseason. Going into the summer, the Blazers were looking to add a big that could help boost their front-court to match the superstar back-court in Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. They went after Al Horford, Dwight Howard, Hassan Whiteside and even Pau Gasol, but struck out with all 4 big men. Now they have turned their full attention to Warriors unrestricted free agent Center Festus Ezeli. Reports came that Blazers would be interested in Ezeli and now they seem to be the front runners to land the Center. According to Jason Quick of CSN North West, who met with Ezeli as he was arriving at Portland International Airport on Wednesday:
“They have something good brewing here,’’ Ezeli told CSN at the Portland International Airport.
Wearing a red-and-black flannel shirt, Ezeli said he had a meeting with the Blazers on Wednesday night. He was unsure how long he would be in Portland.
“I bought a one-way ticket,’’ Ezeli said “We are going to figure it out.’’
The Blazers have about $23 million in cap space to play with to negotiate a deal with Ezeli. If they do end up signing Ezeli, it would seem that they would not be able to afford Allen Crabbe who was essential for them last year. Ezeli, who averaged 7 points and 5.6 rebounds in 16 minutes for the Warriors, is estimated to get somewhere around $15-20 million a year. This means Crabbe would have to pay a heavy pay cut in order to stay with the Blazers. The Nigerian Center would be a good addition to the front court of the Blazers, adding a sold defensive big to their front line. The Blazers have also added Evan Turner and Shabazz Napier to their roster, hoping that their youthful-ness can create some momentum in the Western Conference. They surprised a lot of people last year by making it to the 2nd round of the NBA playoffs after losing 4 of their starters but it seems the Blazers are now back on track.
