Upgraded to standard NBA deal Watford agreed Monday with the Trail Blazers to terminate his two-way contract in order to sign a four-year, $5.8 million standard contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports. Impact According to Wojnarowski, the final two years of Watford's contract are non-guaranteed, but the new deal should nonetheless allow the rookie big man to stick around in Portland through at least the 2022-23 campaign. Despite going undrafted out of LSU this past summer, the 6-foot-8, 237-pound Watford has been able to make a strong early impression at the NBA level. He settled in as the primary backup to starting center Jusuf Nurkic once the calendar flipped to 2022, averaging 5.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 15.5 minutes per game while shooting 60.4 percent from the field over his 24 appearances since the beginning of January.
FEBRUARY 21, 2022 • ROTOWIRE