This is designed to be a quick recap of some of this week’s stories, updates, news, or any other fun things about the Portland Trail Blazers that you may have missed. Links will be provided to the full stories if you want something in-depth but again this will simply be a place for you to find a quick overview on what you may have missed.
Chris Kaman Signs Two-Year Deal
This story was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! via Twitter on July 3rd. However, the deal did not actually become official until Thursday when the free agent moratorium was lifted. Here’s the release via NBA.com. The two-year deal is worth $9.8 million but only $6 million is guaranteed – $5 million the first year and $1 million the second – so the risk factor on this signing is pretty low and Kaman will give the Blazers’ bench some much-needed production at the center spot.
I wrote about the pros and cons of signing Chris Kaman here at HoopsHabit after the signing.
Chris Kaman has reached agreement on a two-year, $10M deal with Portland, league source tells Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 4, 2014
Portland Fills Summer League Roster
The Blazers will be one of 24 teams participating in the Las Vegas Summer League and they have a mix of current players and NBA hopefuls on their roster. Ben Golliver of Blazer’s Edge covered this in detail and has the full roster for you here.
Some of the names to watch for will be Michigan State’s Keith Appling at point guard, Davion Berry out of Weber State University, and I’m particularly interested in seeing how Will Barton and C.J. McCollum fair as they will have a chance this year to compete for some valuable bench minutes.
Portland kicks off their summer league schedule against the New York Knicks on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the COX Pavilion. They will also face the Houston Rockets (the war continues) and the Atlanta Hawks – each team is guaranteed three games and then you can earn more based on your performance and win/loss record.
LaMarcus Aldridge Won’t Sign Extension…
Joe Freeman of the Oregonian reported that LaMarcus Aldridge told them he will not sign an extension this season, but he will sign an extension once the season is over. This was not a surprise as Aldridge stands to have a much larger payday by waiting until the end of the 2014-15 season to sign his new deal.
LaMarcus Aldridge tells The Oregonian he will not sign a contract extension with #Blazers this offseason, but plans to do so next summer.
— Joe Freeman (@BlazerFreeman) July 8, 2014
LaMarcus Aldridge said he wants to finish his career in Portland. One reason why: "I want to be the best Blazer. Ever."
— Joe Freeman (@BlazerFreeman) July 8, 2014
Will Barton to Hold Charity Game in Baltimore
Blazer fan favorite Will Barton will be holding his second annual charity event in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland this summer. The event’s official name is “The Stop the Violence Charity Game” and Barton himself has been working his connections via Twitter to try to get some NBA guys to come out and support the event.
He’s currently got commitments from Khris Middleton, John Henson, Thomas Robinson, C.J. McCollum, Vander Blue and Maalik Wayns. I’m sure many more NBA guys will volunteer their time and efforts for this great event that Barton is putting on for his city.
My 2nd annual stop the violence charity game august 12th in Baltimore at St Frances high school at 7pm. Let's do it even bigger this summer
— Will Barton (@WillTheThrillB5) July 9, 2014
Steve Blake Signs Two-Year Deal
Reserve point guard Steve Blake has signed a two-year deal to return to the Portland Trail Blazers for his third stint in Rip City. The Blazers are certainly hoping that Blake can bring some stability and leadership to the backup point guard position as that spot was headed by Mo Williams last season and he looks to be on his way out.
HoopsHabit’s own Gerald Bourguet had a story up shortly after the signing where he outlines what Blake brings to the table.