After securing Al-Farouq Aminu to a four-year, $30 million deal, the Portland Trail Blazers have made their next free agency move by agreeing to sign All-Star point guard Damian Lillard to a five-year, $120 million contract extension, Ken Berger of CBS Sports is reporting.
Marc Stein of ESPN confirmed Wednesday morning that Lillard and the Blazers were closing in on a deal.
After seeing Anthony Davis receive a five-year, $145 million extension with the New Orleans Pelicans, the Blazers knew they had to lock up the future of their team as well.
Lillard, the Rookie of the Year in 2013, helped the Blazers reach the NBA playoffs for the second consecutive year, averaging 21.0 points, 6.2 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game during the regular season. Unfortunately, Lillard and the Blazers were knocked off in the first round by the Memphis Grizzlies.
With LaMarcus Aldridge’s return to Rip City in doubt, Lillard will become the new face of the franchise. The team still needs to re-sign Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez as well, but the two are flirting with offers from other teams currently.
Matthews, in fact, met with the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday night and the two sides are $3 million apart from agreeing to a deal.
This all means that Portland could head into a full-on rebuilding process with Lillard as the cornerstone piece. The two-time All-Star is capable of leading a team as he will head into the fourth season of his career.
Locking up Lillard was a must. Now let’s see which direction Portland heads during the rest of free agency.