free agency

Casey Holdahl

LAS VEGAS -- The Trail Blazers had interest in both Jerami Grant and Matisse Thybulle for years, and in the last 12 months, they managed to acquire both players, one during the 2022 offseason and the other at the 2023 NBA trade deadline.

But while acquiring players via trade is one thing, retaining those players is entirely another, and that’s especially true for those who are going into free agency. Sometimes the fear of using assets in trades, only to potentially lose those players in free agency, is reason enough for teams to avoid making deals for those in the last years of their contracts, and one imagines that might be even more of an issue in Portland, a wonderful city and fan base, but not exactly a free agent destination.

So getting Grant and Thybulle on the roster was an important first step, but keeping them on the roster was arguably the more difficult task, one Joe Cronin and the Trail Blazers managed to accomplish when they signed both to new, long-term contracts over the last few days while the team has been in Las Vegas for summer league.

“A huge priority for us was retaining both of these guys, so this is a great day for us in order to have these two both with our team long-term,” said Cronin. “Two critically important players to our team and two terrific guys that are not just great leaders in our locker room but great in our community as well.”

Considering Portland’s record over the last few seasons and the uncertainty regarding other players on the roster, one might imagine the task of retaining players has gotten more difficult. But both Grant and Thybulle seemed to indicate their decisions were relatively easy.

For Grant, the environment that Cronin and Billups have fostered was an important factor in his decision to re-up in Portland, reportedly for the next five seasons.

“When I got here I think right away it was the family setting for me, being with Chauncey, with Joe,” said Grant, who brought his newborn daughter to the press conference announcing the signings. “That was a big factor for me in coming back. And I think we’re still moving in the right direction. I trust Joe, I trust Chauncey, so I’m looking forward to what we do next.”

As for Thybulle, as a restricted free agent, the Trail Blazers had the right to match the offer the 6-5 guard/forward recieved from the Dallas Mavericks, so he had a bit less choice than Grant. But the trust and increased role he was given once he arrived in Portland after being acquired via trade from Philadelphia made his free agency a no-lose situation.

“I got here and I immediately stepped into a bigger role than what I’ve had. It felt really good and it was an opportunity for me to showcase a little bit more,” said Thybulle. “I was grateful to be able to step up and rise up to the occasion as well. I think as I grow as a player and as this team grows as a group, I think that’s going to be a natural process that takes place.”

With Grant and Thybulle now under contract, the team will now look to fill out the roster, presumably both through trades and free agency. There’s an assumption that the Trail Blazers, after drafting Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson in consecutive drafts, might prioritize youth over winning, but the signings of both Grant and Thybulle, and Cronin’s own words, would indicate that winning is still very much the priority.

“Our goal is to win and keep moving forward,” said Cronin. “We feel like our talent base is high. We’ve got these two guys, Jerami and Matisse, we’ve got some really good, young guards, we’ve got some other players that are here with us and other guys that we’ll add. Our goal is to keep pushing forward. We have a really talented group and we’re excited to see them grow together.”

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Grant And Thybulle Return In Part Due To Environment And Opportunity

This Thursday at 3 p.m. (6 p.m. on the east coast), the NBA’s yearly moratorium goes into effect. What this means ostensibly is that most official NBA business, such as trades and signing free agents, cannot be conducted until the after the moratorium expires the morning of July 6.

But what the moratorium really signals is the start of free agency. While teams and free agents cannot enter into official agreements until after the moratorium, mutually-interested parties can negotiate terms with the intent of officially signing when business is allowed to resume a week later. Teams are also severely limited in what public comments they’re allowed to make during the moratorium, though players (and their agents) generally have no such restrictions.

Are these rules actually followed? Not all of them, though the league negating trades and issuing penalties due to violations of various moratorium rules last year might keep teams in line this time around. But we here at Trailblazers.com honor and respect the NBA’s edicts, so you’ll read no discussion of free agency in these parts until after July 6.

But we can look at where the Trail Blazers stand in terms of their own players who are entering free agency. There’s been plenty of consideration of Anfernee Simons being a restricted free agent -- meaning the Trail Blazers have the right to match any offer another team tenders -- and Jusuf Nurkic hitting unrestricted free agency, but Portland actually has six players (eight if you include two-way players, which, for this discussion, we are not) who will be free agents and a few who are also eligible for extensions come Thursday night.

Three players -- Damian Lillard, Eric Bledsoe and Nassir Little -- are eligible for contract extensions. The team can offer Lillard, who is currently under contract through the 2024-25 season (with the last season being a player option), a two-year extension worth upwards of $100 million, and there’s no reason to think they won’t (and some reporting says they will).

It’s pretty much the opposite for Bledsoe. There has been no indication the team will look to extend the 12th-year guard, who was acquired as a part of the trade that sent Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the Clippers, and with just $3.9 million of his salary guaranteed if he’s waived by the end of the moratorium, the likelihood of an extension seems incredibly remote.

As for Little, it’s certainly possible he and the team come to an agreement on an extension, though after playing 48, 48 and 42 games in his first three seasons, it seems both parties likely have cause to take a wait-and-see approach. For what it’s worth, that is the tact the team took with Anfernee Simons.

Before we get to the free agents currently on Portland’s roster, we need to quickly consider the state of the team’s financials. Without getting into too great of detail, the Trail Blazers are over the cap, which will reportedly be somewhere around $123 million, for the 2022-23 season but are under the luxury tax, expected to come in somewhere around $150 million.

So that means the Trail Blazers technically have no “cap space” with which to sign free agents. But this is where tools such as exceptions and bird rights come into play.

By being over the cap but under the tax, the Trail Blazers can utilize the midlevel exception, which is expected to be worth somewhere between $10.5 and $11 million per season, making it by far Portland’s most useful tool in bringing in a free agent not currently on the roster. However, they also have the biannual exception, which is expected to be worth in the neighborhood of $4 million for the upcoming season. So even though they don’t have cap space, they do have two exceptions with which to sign free agents. Those exceptions can be split up among multiple contracts and do not have to be used in full.

They also have another tool for keeping the free agents who are currently on their roster. In an effort to help teams retain their own players, the NBA allows team to re-sign players, dependent on the length of their previous contract, even if they don't have the requisite cap space do to so, a privilege known as "bird rights." Bird rights are given to players who have been on the team for at least two years (which are known as “partial” bird rights) or longer (which typically would give a team “full” bird rights). Worth pointing out here that bird rights are usually transferred in trades and only go away when a player is waived. So for instance, even though Joe Ingles has only been a Trail Blazer since February, Portland owns his full bird rights since his current contract, originally signed with the Jazz, was for four years.

So with all that said, here’s the current status of Portland’s free agents to be going into the moratorium.

Jusuf Nurkic: Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic is an unrestricted free agent, though the Trail Blazers have full bird rights, allowing them to generally go over the cap in order to sign the Bosnian center to a new contract. Trail Blazers General Manager Joe Cronin has noted on multiple occasions that the team values Nurkic, so most expect he will be back in Portland next season.

Anfernee Simons: The Trail Blazers extended the qualifying offer to Anfernee Simons Wednesday morning, making the 6-3 guard a restricted free agent. Like Nurkic, the Trail Blazers own Simons’ full bird rights and the team has made it very clear that they consider him an integral part of their plans going forward, so all indications are Simons will be back next season. And not for nothing, Simons has already stated his desire to return.

Joe Ingles: The veteran guard/forward out of Australia will be an unrestricted free agent, though as previously mentioned, the Trail Blazers own his bird rights, something Joe Cronin mentioned specifically after the trade. And for his part, Ingles has stated interest in returning.

Ben McLemore: After signing a one-year contract with the Trail Blazers for the 2021-22 season, veteran guard Ben McLemore will be an unrestricted free agent. Portland does not own his bird rights since he was on a one-year contract.

CJ Elleby: Portland signed CJ Elleby to a two-year contract after selecting the guard/forward in the second round of the 2020 Draft. As far as I know, the team has not extended a qualifying offer to Elleby (this is probably moot anyway), though the Blazers own partial bird rights, allowing them to go over the cap to re-sign him, but at limited amounts and for at least two seasons. If Elleby does come back, one would assume it would be on a new, minimum contract rather than utilizing his early bird rights.

Elijah Hughes: Trail Blazers guard Elijah Hughes, who Portland acquired at the 2022 trade deadline, will be an unrestricted free agent, though the Trail Blazers own partial bird rights. Assumption here is the same as with Elleby.

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Free Agency Primer: Where The Blazers Stand Heading Into The Moratorium

As a boy growing up in Canton, Ohio, CJ McCollum only had one plan: to make it to the NBA. It seemed farfetched to many, a group which included some of his teachers, who had surely heard students before McCollum declare such goals only to eventually fall well short, and teammates who questioned whether he was even good enough to make the team at GlenOak High School by his own merits.

And to be fair, McCollum’s detractors did have a point. Standing at 5-7 and weighing somewhere well south of 150 pounds, McCollum didn’t really look the part of future NBA player, nor did he necessarily possess the skills at the time. He failed to make varsity his freshman year, and while he did get the bump up from JV the next season, he played sparingly. So realistically, if you were to ask someone in Canton about a McCollum going on to play in college at that time, let alone in the NBA, they most certainly would have assumed you were talking about CJ’s older brother Errick, who started at GlenOak and would later go on to be named a four-time D-II All-American at Goshen College.

“My brother was really good at basketball and played varsity, so my freshman year I’m on junior varsity and a lot of people would say I was only playing because of my brother,” said the younger McCollum. “They’d say ‘You’re only on JV because your brother is the starting point guard’ this and that. It kind of pissed me off, so I just used that as motivation. I always used to tell my brother — I was Errick’s little brother — I told him ‘One day you’re going to be CJ’s older brother’ and he’d just laugh. He’s like ‘I hope so!’ because that’s the kind of relationship we had.”

Even though Errick might have been the only one to believe him, the lack of faith never prompted CJ to downgrade his expectations nor consider a more feasible plan. It was always NBA or bust for McCollum, a tact he made peace with long before he signed a four-year extension this summer with the Trail Blazers worth roughly $106 million.

“I had that dog in me, just wanted to be great, wanted to kind of prove I belonged because I was a lot smaller than other people.” said McCollum of his first two years at GlenOak. “Teachers telling me ‘You need a Plan B. You’re small, you know the chances of you making it are slim.’ I would tell them ‘My Plan B is Plan A. I make it to the NBA and everything else will fall in line. The degree will take care of itself, I’ll build a resume, but without the NBA, there is no Plan B for me.’”

Which seems a bit reckless, though it’s hard to argue with the results. And there were players who had similar backgrounds to McCollum who gave him the confidence to reach for his incredibly lofty goals. Granted, those players had more going for them than McCollum did at the time, but they still served as models nonetheless for what a kid from Canton could achieve.

“I just remember watching and going to to Cavs games early on as a youngster, being able to see LeBron, playing for King James, seeing LeBron play and just watching his demeanor, his approach to the game,” said McCollum. “Warmups, the fans, how his family reacted and just saying ‘I can’t wait to be in a position to make that kind of impact on the community.’ LeBron being from Ohio, me being from Ohio, I was always able to watch him, watch how he approached everything, watch his business strategies and how he was able to grow his brand. So for me, it was simple. It was like, LeBron is kind of laying the platform for kids from Ohio. You work hard, you do what you’re supposed to do and you can make it to this level, because he grew up 10, 15 minutes from me going to St. (Vincent’s).

“So I was able to watch him and some other guys like Keith McCleod, Kosta Koufous, watching them work hard and get results. So my idea was just work hard, don’t worry about anybody else, don’t worry about distractions, don’t worry about obstacles, injuries. Just do your job, focus on you. You need to have that trust, that faith in yourself and God that everything else will handle itself.”

Though there were moments when it seemed like that faith might not be enough. While he swears he never experienced full-blown doubt  about whether he’d be able to follow in the footsteps of players like James and Koufos (which isn't hard to believe if you've spent any time around him), there was a sense that perhaps things weren’t going as well as they could be. But the combination of redoubling his efforts and undergoing a growth spurt midway through high school put him back on the right path.

“My sophomore year when I didn’t start varsity, I was coming off the bench, sixth man, and that was when I was like ‘Alright, I’m a little behind,’” said McCollum. “You start to look at the trajectory levels of where you’re at — I’m a realist — averaging 6.0 points a game on varsity, I’m 5-7 and I really need to take my game to the next level if I want to make this dream a reality. So I just kind of focused. I evaluated my lifestyle, my work ethic, reevaluated how I could kind of get better and find my niche. Continued to shoot, shoot, shoot, handle, perfect my craft so once I grew a little bit more and got my chance to start varsity, I just told myself ‘This is it. If you leave everything out here, you give yourself the best chance to get a scholarship.’ Then for me, it was baby steps. Get a Division I scholarship and then get to the league, but I hadn’t got that scholarship yet, so I wasn’t even thinking about the league. I was like ‘Just get this scholarship.’ I got my first offer and I was like ‘Alright, we got one, let’s get some more.’ That’s kind of how it went, it kind of snowballed.”

His junior year, McCollum started and scored a school-record 54 points in the first game of the season. His senior year, he would be named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Ohio and finished runner-up to Jared Sullinger for Ohio’s Mr. Basketball. Then it was on to Lehigh, where he started all but the first two games of his collegiate career, led the Mountain Hawks to an upset victory versus Duke in the NCAA Tournament and ultimately won Patriot League Player of the Year twice.

So by the start of his junior year, it was fairly obvious McCollum would at least get a crack at the NBA despite having his final collegiate season cut short due to a broken foot. In the end, Plan A, the only plan McCollum ever had, was fully realized when he was selected by the Trail Blazers with the 10th overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft. And while being a max-level player wasn’t in CJ’s initial plans, he was nonetheless overjoyed to sign on the dotted line this summer rather than testing his fortunes as a restricted free agent in 2017.

“I’m just really thankful, thankful that the organization has been patient with me, they’ve trusted me, they’ve given me opportunities,” said McCollum. “Obviously it’s a dream come true to be able to get an extension of that magnitude. To get that trust and that commitment from an organization is huge, it’s everything a player looks for and everything a player works for. So it’s very comforting to know that they’re willing to go to those measures to secure an extension and keep me here long term. I’m thankful because this is exactly what I wanted. I wanted to be here long term, I want to continue to get better, continue to grow and be a part of this city, on and off the floor.”

But now McCollum has new plans, or at least more varied plans than the singular all-or-nothing approach he took as a young man growing up in northeast Ohio. Few have taken advantage of the opportunities afforded to professional athletes like McCollum has in his first three season, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down despite the fact that he now has, as he puts it, “generational wealth.”

“I laid out a plan early on about what I want to do in the community, what I want to do off the court,” said McCollum. “Launching my journalism program, CJ’s Press Pass, incremental steps that I had planned as we continue to get closer to 25, get closer to 30. I’ve got a lot of things lined up, I’m happy everything is falling into place. Obviously basketball is my priority, that’s my love and my joy and how I make a living, but I want to leave a legacy besides basketball and I think I’ll be in a position to do that. I’m just taking advantage of these platforms and writing, continue to build my resume. I’ve got a lot of stuff planned this year, it’s going to be a great year on and off the court. Just thankful because it’s been a long process and a long journey, but it’s all paid off.”

Though McCollum is quick to point out that this journey isn’t anywhere close to completed. It’s true that he is set for life financially — or at least he will be once his extension kicks in come the start of the 2017-18 season — and his position as Portland’s starting shooting guard is all but assured, barring injury, for the next half decade. But as he has grown from the scrawny kid who was known primarily as “Errick’s little brother” to the man he is today, so too have his expectations going forward. Just having an NBA career, even one which has made him incredibly wealthy, is no longer enough.

“I’m driven by legacy, I’m driven by my last name, I’m driven by where I come from,” said McCollum. “I don’t want to be known as a guy who got paid and then fell off. I don’t want to be know as a guy who they say ‘He was really good early and then he kind of faltered late.’ I want them to say ‘He consistently got better each year. He loved this game. He never changed. He’s the same guy from 16 to 26 to 36. He never changed, he’s just a little bit more mature, but he does the same things, he has the same friends, he acts the same way, he treats people the same way. He treats the janitor like he treats the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.’ I think based on how I was raised, I was raised to never be content and continue to seek the ultimate amount of success, and that’s just not money. Money doesn’t always define success. You need to find that happiness and for me, happiness is working out, giving myself the best chance to put my best foot forward. I think that’s huge, putting a good product on the court, representing where I come from — Canton, Ohio — representing Lehigh University every time I step on the court, every time I leave the house.”

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McCollum Proves You Don't Always Need A Backup Plan

ESPN's Zach Lowe, one of the best journalists covering the NBA, if not the best, posted a story today laying out almost the entirety of the Trail Blazers' offseason moves. Lowe seems somewhat optimistic about the deals Portland made this summer (though he notes they also have the potential to be "disastrous"), while stating the cold fact that a franchise which has shown no ability to draw big name free agents doesn't have a whole lot of options when trying to build a winner. It's easily the best retelling of the plan Neil Olshey executed this summer that you're going to find, so I recommend reading it from start to finish.

But let's pull look at some of the more interesting tidbits, of which there are many. First, the true target...

They chose the latter. Lowe points out that in order to keep any real cap space for next season, the Blazers would have had to part ways with many of the players from last year's team and delayed CJ McCollum's extension. And even then, it wouldn't be enough space to sign a max player, assuming one could be lured to Portland anyway, which has never been the case.

On the much-discussed topic of who plays what position, Lowe reports that Al-Farouq Aminu will start at power forward, a move that both Olshey and Terry Stotts have signaled this offseason, though he takes it one step further...

It's one thing to use Aminu at power forward for spurts, something the Trail Blazers did often last year, particularly late in the season, but another for him to play there "almost exclusively." According SportVU player tracking, as provided by Nylon Calculus, Aminu played 56 percent of his minutes at small forward last season while playing power forward 44 percent of the time. Granted, these numbers are imperfect, and positions in the NBA have never been more fluid, but going from roughly splitting time between small and power forward to playing almost entirely at the four is a fairly drastic change.

Then there's the topic of Dwight Howard, who the Trail Blazers were rumored to be pursuing during the July moratorium. According to Lowe, those rumors might have been a bit overblown...

This is just a guess, but this might be what Olshey was referring to when he mentioned "unfounded" speculation and that "a lot of names on lists that were never viable that we never had any interest in" during the press conference to introduce Festus Ezeli. Of course, there's no lack of speculation during free agency, so it could very well be in reference to someone else.

There's a whole lot more in there, particularly if you're interested in how Stotts might utilize Evan Turner, which is very much worth your time.

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Lowe: Blazers Wanted Whiteside, Aminu Will Start At Power Forward

Greetings podcast enthusiasts. Between CJ McCollum getting an extension and Moe Harkless signing a new deal, Portland's roster for the start of the 2016-17 regular season is all but finalized. So it seemed like a good time to hit the studio with Joe Freeman of The Oregonian/OregonLive.com to record yet another edition of the Rip City Report podcast, which you can listen to below...

On this edition, we discuss the near-max extension for McCollum and the four-year, roughly $40 million contract for Harkless, which directions Terry Stotts might go in terms of starting lineups and minutes allocations, the news that both Al-Farouq Aminu and Festus Ezeli will forego playing for Nigeria at the 2016 Summer Olympics, give a quick rundown of the preseason schedule and answer your Twitter-submitted questions.

You can find the Rip City Report on Soundcloud, iTunes and Stitcher. Thanks as always for listening.

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Podcast: The Rip City Report, Finalized Roster Edition

Restricted free agency can be a bit tricky for both the players and teams involved. For the player, you sit through pitches laying out your value to another organization before entering into negotiations knowing full well that the whole exercise could end up being largely an act of futility. And for the team with the restricted free agent, they have to watch as one of their players is wooed by another organization whose contract offer they'll have to abide by if they want to retain the player. Things usually turn out fine in the end, but it can get a bit uncomfortable, especially if a player says he's excited to go to another team only to end up returning to his former team should they decide to match contract terms (as they almost always do).

But there's no rule stating restricted free agency has to play out that way. Teams don't typically mind restricted free agents getting offers from other teams, as it keeps them from being in the position of negotiating against themselves. But if there's a mutual desire to get a come to terms on a new contract without going through the dance of having a player get an offer sheet from another team first, teams are free to sign their own restricted free agents. Such was the case with the Trail Blazers and fourth-year power forward Meyers Leonard, who signed with Portland without ever getting an offer sheet.

"Obviously when it comes to free agency, you talk to other teams, you try to gain interest," said Leonard during a press conference at the Trail Blazers' practice facility in Tualatin. "But my main focus was to be back here in Portland. I spent all four years here, Neil (Olshey) has been the guy that’s backed me since the beginning. I truly believe watching him from the outside just as a player, he can understand talent, he can understand the future. I appreciate that he believes in me, I believe the coaching staff has a firm belief that I can really do a lot of good things, that I can continue to develop and become a much better player, which I know I will as well."

It's possible Leonard could have received a larger offer from another team had he expressed a sincere desire to leave Portland, just as it's possible the Trail Blazers could have tried to sign Leonard to a smaller contract with other teams neglecting to force their hand by not offering the 7-1 power forward an offer sheet. But even though the NBA, as the oft-repeated saying goes, is a business, it doesn't mean that decisions are always made with business solely in mind. There are relationships to consider, and if both parties wanted the partnership to continue, there's no reason for either side to engage in hardball tactics just to either save a few million (if you're the team) or make a couple million more (if you're the player). If the Trail Blazers are serious about signing players who want to be in Portland -- and all indications point to that -- they have to reciprocate that desire, which they did by signing Leonard to a four-year deal.

"Player retention is huge for us, it’s a big part of the organization having consistency and stability," said Trail Blazers President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey. "Having Meyers, who was our first draft pick sign on long term is a great situation for us. We know he’s got a great future ahead, he’s going to continue to develop, he’s already contributed a lot to the organization. He’s a joy to have around here and for myself, Paul (Allen), Chris (McGowan), we’re all happy he’s going to be a part of the organization for the foreseeable future."

But while the team has shown they are invested in Leonard's future by signing him to a four-year deal, that doesn't mean he has been promised anything. Between the addition of free agent center Festus Ezeli, the likelihood that small forward Al-Farouq Aminu plays considerable minutes this season at the four and the continued development of 20 year-old power forward Noah Vonleh, the competition for playing time among Portland's bigs will be as fierce this season as it has been in years.

"It’s good to have a deep roster and I feel I bring something way different than the average player, the average big brings, obviously the main one being shooting, spacing the floor," said Leonard. "But I continue to develop on the defensive end with my rebounding, being more aggressive, understanding the game much better and just allowing the game to slow down. As you gain in game experience and you continue to develop chemistry within this group. This young group, obviously, we surprised a lot of people. You go from 26.5 games to getting to the playoffs, getting to the second round and as I sat there during the playoffs, it was hard for me. One, because when we were losing, I knew I could be helping. And when we won, I wanted to be a part of it. So there’s a hunger inside of me and I’m excited for what I can bring to this team."

That hunger will have to be satiated off the court for the next few months, as Leonard continues to rehab from a shoulder injury that cut his 2015-16 season short. But in the long term, he'll Leonard has the opportunity to prove the belief Olshey and Terry Stotts have shown in him during his career in Portland has been well placed, just as the team will have the chance to have a player with a unique skillset signed long term to to what could end up being an incredible bargain of a four-year deal.

"I have enjoyed all four years here so far," said Leonard. "It’s been a progression for sure. I come in as a 20 year-old, wide-eyed, not really know what’s going and now, all the sudden, I know that I’ve been a factor and I know I can play and now it’s really time to take that next step. I feel like I’m really getting there, not just with the shoulder — that was a bit of a setback — but throughout parts of last year, I could really feel myself starting to come into my own and really being more consistent... I’ve been here with Dame all four years, Allen (Crabbe), CJ (McCollum), all the young guys. Now that we add more and more pieces, I’m excited and I know I can really be a big piece to this puzzle, because again, this is going to be an exciting time for the Trail Blazers."

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Leonard, Trail Blazers Both Get What They Want With Four-Year Deal

With Portland's foray into free agency now complete, Joe Freeman, he of The Oregonian/OregonLive.com, and I, Casey Holdahl of ForwardCenter.net/TrailBlazers.com, hit the Moda Center studio to record another edition of the Rip City Report podcast, which you can listen to below...

In this almost all Twitter-submitted questions edition, we discuss the signings of Evan Turner, Festus Ezeli and Meyers Leonard, the decision to match the offer the Brooklyn Nets extended to Allen Crabbe, how the additions and returns could change lineups going forward and the notion that the Trail Blazers need to make a trade. There's also some hot Pokemon Go and "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" talk to start the show, so you might want prepare yourself to fast-forward through the first few minutes.

You can find the Rip City Report on Soundcloud, iTunes and Stitcher. And a reminder that the offseason is a great time to leave a review on iTunes!

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Podcast: Rip City Report, Post Free Agency Edition

UPDATE: The team has officially announced that they have matched the Nets' offer sheet to Allen Crabbe, though a "formal announcement" and Crabbe actually signing the contract will not occur until later in the week.

After finishing up their pursuit of new free agents, the Trail Blazers have wasted little time in turning their attention to the free agents on their own roster. After reportedly signing restricted free agent power forward Meyers Leonard to a four-year deal, the Trail Blazers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, have matched the four-year, $75 million offer sheet the Brooklyn Nets tendered to third-year guard/forward Allen Crabbe, ensuring that the former Cal Bear will be back in Portland next season...

As is often the case when it comes to restricted free agents, the Nets offer to Crabbe, who has averaged 7.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game through three season, was considerably larger than many assumed the 6-6 wing would receive in an effort to discourage the Trail Blazers from matching. And after the Trail Blazers signed free agent guard/forward Evan Turner to a four-year deal, some assumed that combined with the size of the Nets offer might result in Trail Blazers letting Crabbe walk.

But that would not be the case. Crabbe has been a favorite of the front office and coaching staff since the team acquired former Pac-12 Player of the Year via trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2012 Draft. And though he played sparingly in his first two seasons, he saw his minutes increase dramatically in 2015-16, as he appeared in 81 games and responded with averages of 10.8 points on 44 percent shooting and 39 percent shooting from three, 2.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists while serving as one of the team's best perimeter defenders.

There were rumors that outside of the money and years, Crabbe, who has typically come off the bench for the Trail Blazers, was intrigued by the opportunity to start and play a larger role with the Nets. But for his part, Crabbe seemed more than satisfied that he would be returning to Portland...

With Crabbe now signed, forward Maurice Harkless is the last Blazer still available on the free agent market. Like Crabbe, Harkless is a restricted free agent, which gives the Trail Blazers the right to match any offer he receives from another team. It is also possible for the Trail Blazers to sign Harkless even if he doesn't receive an offer sheet from another team, as they have reportedly did Sunday with restricted free agent power forward Meyers Leonard.

trail-blazers-match-four-year-offer-for-allen-crabbe

Trail Blazers Match Four-Year Offer For Allen Crabbe

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