We have our first surprise of the summer. Free agent wing Al-Farouq Aminu has agreed to a four-year, $30 million deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, according to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. He will leave the Dallas Mavericks and head to the Northwest.
Al-Farouq Aminu agrees to 4-year, $30 million deal with Blazers
Could this mean LaMarcus Aldridge is saying goodbye?
Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Aminu confirmed the news on his Twitter account. Aminu will be reunited with Blazers GM Neil Olshey, who drafted Aminu while with the Clippers.
The decision to nab Aminu could be another sign that Portland is preparing for life after LaMarcus Aldridge. Portland will eventually sign Aminu as an under the cap team, but to do that, they must renounce the cap holds of Wesley Matthews or Robin Lopez -- and possibly both -- freeing them to go elsewhere. Aldridge’s cap hold, worth $20.6 million, can still remain under this scenario if Portland renounces every other free agent, but he’d then have to agree to return to a team that’s lost the ability to re-sign many of its key pieces. So, while Aminu and Aldridge conceivably play different positions, this move only makes Aldridge’s departure more likely.
Aminu opted out of a $1.1 million player option for next season with the Dallas Mavericks in order to hit unrestricted free agency for a second straight year. Last summer, Aminu settled for a one-year, minimum-salary deal with an option attached, but this time around he's played well enough to garner a much larger contract.
The regular season saw Aminu play his fewest minutes per game since his rookie year, but the 24-year-old broke out during the Mavericks' first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets. Aminu averaged 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals per game while shooting 55 percent from the floor and 64 percent from three. It was some of the most impressive basketball we've ever seen from Aminu, who was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers with the No. 8 pick in the 2010 draft. After averaging just six points on 41 percent shooting during the regular season, Aminu probably made himself a good deal of money with those five strong games.
It's unclear if the Blazers see Aminu as a small forward that can replace Batum or a power forward that can take over the minutes Aldridge vacates should he depart in free agency. Either way, Aminu is a talented player that has the potential to break out, and his salary is reasonable considering the rising cap.
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