Al-Farouq Aminu has agreed to a four-year, $30 million contract with the Portland Trail Blazers, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Aminu, 24, averaged 5.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in 74 games for the Dallas Mavericks last season.
Blazers general manager Neil Olshey was GM of the Los Angeles Clippers when they made Aminu the eighth overall pick of the 2010 NBA draft. Aminu also played with New Orleans for three seasons.
Aminu tweeted the news, referencing that connection with Olshey:
Headed to Portland with my guy Neil Olshey, who believed in me since day one. Much love
— Al-Farouq Aminu (@farouq1) July 1, 2015
Rip city here I come
No matter how the rest of their offseason shakes out, Aminu is a nice get for Portland. He plugs the hole at small forward that was created last week when they traded Nicolas Batum to Charlotte. Aminu isn’t nearly the shooter or playmaker Batum is, but he’s a terrific, versatile defender who can play both forward positions. Even if the Blazers lose LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews (which seems pretty likely at this point), signing a 24-year-old defensive ace for $7.5 million per year is a solid move, especially with the salary cap going up next season.