The Portland Trail Blazers finally entered the free-agent frenzy following the franchise’s verbal agreement with Norman Powell. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the 5-year, $90 million deal Monday evening.
Free agent G Norman Powell has agreed to a five-year, $90M deal to return to the Portland Trail Blazers, his agent Thaddeus Foucher of @Wasserman tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 3, 2021
When Portland traded the younger Gary Trent Jr for the Raptor’s offensive threat in Powell, the trade appeared as both a salary dump and a win-now move to appease star Damian Lillard. Now it’s evident the Trail Blazers envision Powell as an answer to Lillard and, more importantly, Portland’s problem of losing in the first round.
Encouraged by his 41 percent 3-point percentage, numerous teams inquired about Powell’s services. Smartly, Oshey realized the potential damage long-term effects of losing Powell, thus theoretically locking him up on day one.
Norman Powell is going off in Game 4 ?
He’s got 29 PTS on 11-of-13 shooting pic.twitter.com/FzBpqWdHrw
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 29, 2021
Averaging 18 points per contest provides the Trail Blazers with enough firepower to compete in the Western Conference. Whether the Trail Blazers have other moves up their sleeves is the burning question. Powell’s deal comes at a friendly price, so perhaps Oshey can manufacture another signing before free agency’s end. Portland’s goal now has to be to convince Damian Lillard he can win a Championship one day with the franchise.
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