Portland Trail Blazers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

McCollum Not Feeling Added Pressure After Extension

August 8th, 2016 at 4:32pm CST by Luke Adams

After playing the first several years of his NBA career on a contract that will pay him about $10MM in total, C.J. McCollum is set to begin playing on a $106MM+ deal a year from now, having signed an extension last month. Despite the huge pay raise, the Trail Blazers guard doesn’t expect to be affected by increased expectations, as he tells Oliver Maroney of Basketball Insiders. “The only real pressure is the pressure I put on myself. As long as I’m continuing to work and get better, no one is going to put pressure on me but myself,” McCollum said, adding that he thinks the franchise is “heading in the right direction.”

As we outlined earlier today, Northwest teams spent the least amount of free agent money this summer out of any of the six divisions, with only the Trail Blazers making a major splash on the open market.

Blazers Prioritized Continuity This Offseason

August 6th, 2016 at 5:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Trail Blazers have had a busy offseason as the franchise hopes to keep the momentum going from its surprising 2015/16 season. GM Neil Olshey, speaking at a press conference to formally announce C.J. McCollum‘s extension, noted that keeping the roster intact was his first priority heading into the summer, Sean Meagher of The Oregonian relays.

McCollum Excited About Team's Offseason Moves

August 5th, 2016 at 7:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Speaking at a press conference today, Blazers guard C.J. McCollum raved about the team’s moves this offseason and what they mean for the season ahead, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian relays. “I think we have a little bit of everything,” McCollum said. “You look at the roster, the way we put different pieces together, bringing in Festus Ezeli, a guy who has championship-level experience defensively, impacts the game right way. Can hedge ball screens. Can do a lot of things we’re not accustomed to. Then you look at Mason Plumlee, a big who can handle the ball, can initiate the offense, can kind of serve as our defacto point guard a lot of times in situations where Dame (Damian Lillard) and I were getting trapped. Bringing back (Allen Crabbe) was big, a guy who can knock down shots, defend high-level wings. Bringing in Evan Turner, a versatile wing, who can pass, play-make, play on the ball, and I think he’ll be an improved three-point shooter.

Blazers Notes: Whiteside, Aminu, Turner, Offseason

August 4th, 2016 at 9:55am CST by Luke Adams

As we detailed on Tuesday, the Trail Blazers blew away their Northwest rivals when it came to offseason spending, committing more than $242MM ($234MM+ guaranteed) to free agent contracts. By comparison, the other four Northwest clubs combined to commit about $85MM to free agents. And the Blazers’ total doesn’t even include the $106MM extension that the club handed out to C.J. McCollum last week.

Considering so many of the Blazers’ big signings were players who were already on the team’s roster, it remains to be seen whether the franchise will take another step forward in the Western Conference picture this season. Zach Lowe of ESPN.com examined the situation in Portland in his latest column, and passed along a few interesting tidbits, so let’s round them up…

According to Lowe, the Blazers would have liked to make a run at Hassan Whiteside in free agency, but were “spurned” by the young center, who didn’t waste much time in agreeing to a new deal with the Heat. With Whiteside no longer in play, the Blazers could have pursued another center like Dwight Howard, Bismack Biyombo, or Ian Mahinmi, but ultimately went in another direction.
The Blazers’ decision to sign McCollum, Allen Crabbe, Evan Turner, Maurice Harkless, and Meyers Leonard to pricey long-term contracts means that the team won’t have any cap room to work with for the foreseeable future. “Good players on favorable contracts are more valuable to us than cap room,” Blazers GM Neil Olshey said. “Especially in an era where all 30 teams have cap room — or the ability to get it. … With our interest in extending C.J., we weren’t going to be a cap room team next year, anyway.”
As Lowe observes, the Blazers are currently projected to be in luxury-tax territory in 2017/18 and perhaps 2018/19 as well. However, he notes that if the new Collective Bargaining Agreement includes a new amnesty clause for each team, as the last CBA did, Portland could have an opportunity to avoid that fate.
Stotts tells Lowe that the Blazers intend to play Al-Farouq Aminu almost exclusively at power forward rather than small forward. As Lowe points out, that could be bad news for Noah Vonleh.
Damian Lillard‘s work ethic helps dictate the culture of selflessness in Portland, which will help ensure that all the players with huge new contracts will continue to work hard. Sources tell Lowe that when one recent draft pick entered the NBA “carrying a whiff of entitlement,” the Portland coaching staff pointed to Lillard and essentially said: “He’s way better than you, and he’s working harder.”
Olshey on the Blazers paying $70MM+ to both Crabbe and Turner: “The way the game is being played, plus the dearth of available wings, made us willing to pay a premium for two impact players that fit our model.” The GM is also confident that Turner will improve his outside shooting in Portland.

Free Agent Spending By Division: Northwest

August 2nd, 2016 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Over the next several days, we’ll be breaking down 2016 NBA free agent spending by division, examining which teams – and divisions – were the most active this July.

These divisional breakdowns won’t present a full picture of teams’ offseason spending. Some notable free agents, including LeBron James, remain unsigned, so there’s still money out there to be spent. Our lists also don’t include money spent on this year’s first- and second-round picks or draft-and-stash signings. There are a few free agent names missing in some instances as well, since those deals aren’t yet official or terms haven’t been reported.

Still, these closer looks at divisional spending should generally reveal how teams invested their money in free agency this summer, identifying which clubs went all-out and which ones played it safe.

With the help of our Free Agent Tracker and contract info from Basketball Insiders, we’ll focus today on the Northwest division. Let’s dive in…

1. Portland Trail Blazers

Total money committed: $242,414,220
Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $234,307,500
Largest expenditure: Allen Crabbe (four years, $74,832,500)
Other notable signings:
- Evan Turner (four years, $70,000,000)
- Meyers Leonard (four years, $41,000,000)
- Maurice Harkless (four years, $40,000,000)
- Festus Ezeli (two years, $15,133,000)
Notes:
- Crabbe’s deal was an offer sheet extended by the Nets that was matched by the Trail Blazers. Crabbe, Leonard, and Harkless were all restricted free agents.
- Ezeli’s second-year salary of $7.733MM is currently guaranteed for just $1MM.

2. Minnesota Timberwolves

Total money committed: $33,580,000
Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $24,500,000
Largest expenditure: Cole Aldrich (three years, $21,900,000)
Other notable signings:
- Jordan Hill (two years, $8,180,000)
- Brandon Rush (one year, $3,500,000)
Notes:
- Hill has a non-guaranteed $4.18MM salary in the second year of his contract, while $4.9MM of Aldrich’s total third-year salary is non-guaranteed.

3. Denver Nuggets

Total money committed: $29,999,999
Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $26,499,999
Largest expenditure: Darrell Arthur (three years, $22,999,999)
Other notable signings:
- Mike Miller (two years, $7,000,000)
Notes:
- Miller’s deal is non-guaranteed in its second year, creating the $3.5MM gap between the Nuggets’ total money and guaranteed money committed in free agency.

4. Utah Jazz

Total money committed: $21,505,000
Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $21,505,000
Largest expenditure: Joe Johnson (two years, $21,505,000)
Other notable signings:
- None
Notes:
- Rather than signing free agents, the Jazz focused on using their cap room to acquire players in trades, landing Boris Diaw and George Hill.

5. Oklahoma City Thunder

Total money committed: $0
Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $0
Largest expenditure: None
Other notable signings:
- None
Notes:
- After losing Kevin Durant, the Thunder made one notable signing this summer, bringing over Alex Abrines on a three-year, $17MM+ deal. However, Abrines was a draft-and-stash player, not a free agent.

Previously:
Southwest
Southeast

McCollum's Extension Isn't Quite The Max

July 30th, 2016 at 9:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

C.J. McCollum‘s contract extension with the Blazers falls shy of the maximum, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. McCollum agreed to an extension that kicks in for the 2017/18 season and is worth $106MM over those four years.

Blazers Sign C.J. McCollum To Extension

July 27th, 2016 at 1:55pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 27: The Blazers have officially signed McCollum to his extension, the team announced today in a press release.

“I’m ecstatic to be able to extend my career in Portland and grateful for the trust and the opportunity the organization has provided for me,” McCollum said in a statement. “Since I arrived in Oregon I’ve considered it home and look forward to building something special, not only on the court, but in the community as well.”

JULY 25: The Trail Blazers and C.J. McCollum have reached an agreement on a maximum-salary contract extension, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. According to Wojnarowski, the deal will add four years to McCollum’s current contract, locking him up through the 2020/21 season. Based on current cap projections, the deal would be worth about $106MM.

The 10th overall pick in the 2013 draft, McCollum became eligible for a contract extension for the first time this month, after playing the first three seasons of his rookie contract. He’s set to earn a modest $3.22MM salary in 2016/17 before getting bumped up to the max the following year. If he hadn’t agreed to an extension with Portland, McCollum would have been eligible for restricted free agency next summer.

After starting just three of 100 games in his first two seasons as a pro, McCollum became a full-time starter in 2015/16. He responded by increasing his scoring average from 6.8 PPG to 20.8 PPG, and chipped in 4.3 APG and 1.2 SPG as well. Although McCollum’s huge increase in production was largely due to a similar increase in playing time, he was also a more efficient contributor in his third season, establishing new career highs in FG% (.448), 3PT% (.417), and FT% (.827).

Because Portland inked Damian Lillard to a five-year contract extension last year, making him the team’s “designated player,” McCollum was limited to a four-year extension. Wojnarowski adds that the agreement for the team’s starting two guard won’t include any options or a trade kicker.

While the exact value of McCollum’s contract won’t be known until the NBA officially sets the 2017/18 salary cap next July, the league currently projects a $102MM cap, which would result in a starting salary of about $24MM on McCollum’s new deal. The Blazers already have nearly $62MM committed to Lillard, Allen Crabbe, and Evan Turner for the ’17/18 campaign — McCollum’s deal figures to bring that total to about $86MM.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Tim Quarterman's Deal Includes Partial Guarantee

July 26th, 2016 at 10:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Tim Quarterman‘s two-year, minimum salary deal with the Trail Blazers includes a partial guarantee of $75K for the first year, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.

Blazers To Re-Sign Maurice Harkless

July 26th, 2016 at 3:49pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Restricted free agent Maurice Harkless has agreed to a four-year, $40MM deal to re-sign with the Trail Blazers, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports. The pact will be fully guaranteed with no options and it could reach $42MM with incentives, Charania adds.

Several teams were reportedly interested in Harkless early in the free agent process, including the Wizards, Pistons, Lakers, Mavericks and Jazz. But instead he’ll return to Portland where he emerged as a valuable rotation player on an up-and-coming Blazers team after being acquired from the Magic via trade last summer.

Harkless appeared in 78 games for Portland last season, including 14 tip-offs as a starter. He averaged 6.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 18.7 minutes per outing, while shooting .474/.279/.622 from the field.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blazers Agree To Deal With Tim Quarterman

July 25th, 2016 at 3:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Trail Blazers have signed guard Tim Quarterman to a partially guaranteed two-year deal, according to the team’s website. The story was first reported by Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link).

The 6’6” Quarterman went undrafted after he declared following his junior season at LSU. He posted averages of 11.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 0.97 steals in 33 games last season with the Tigers. Quarterman shot 31% on 3-point attempts and 66% from the free throw line during his three seasons at LSU, so he’ll have to improve his shooting to stick.

The opportunity is there for Quarterman to earn a roster spot. Portland has Damian Lillard and Shabazz Napier at point guard and C.J. McCollum and Allen Crabbe at shooting guard. Swingman Evan Turner could also see backcourt minutes.

Quarterman made the rounds prior to the draft, working out for a host of teams. Quarterman had trouble blending with No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons in his final season at LSU, as his points and assists dipped while he bounced in and out of the lineup. He did improve his 3-point shooting to 34.3%.