Source: Aminu picks Portland for $30M deal
Al-Farouq Aminu has agreed to terms on a four-year, $30 million deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, a source told ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne.
Aminu, the eighth overall pick in the 2010 draft, opted out of the second season of the minimum-salary deal he signed with the Dallas Mavericks last summer. After spending the first two months of the season on the fringe of the rotation, he established himself as a key contributor at both forward positions for the Mavs.
Aminu, 24, remains raw offensively, matching his career low last season with 5.6 points per game and shooting 41.2 percent from the floor in 2014-15. However, he’s a strong rebounder (8.6 per 36 minutes in his career) and a valuable, versatile defender who guarded everything from point guard to power forward for the Mavs.
Aminu was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers and sent to the New Orleans Pelicans in the Chris Paul trade after his rookie season. He was primarily a starter during his three-season stint in New Orleans but didn’t find much of a market for his services last summer. He boosted his value in Dallas, particularly in the playoffs, averaging 11.2 points and 7.2 rebounds in an increased role due to a knee injury to Dallas starting small forward Chandler Parsons.
ESPNDallas.com’s Tim MacMahon contributed to this report.
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