Blazers Sign Festus Ezeli

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.

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