PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Trail Blazers are signing rookie forward Trendon Watford to a four-year, $5.8 million deal, which includes two non-guaranteed seasons, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday morning. The Blazers are also waiving injured backup point guard Dennis Smith Jr.
Watford, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward, averaged 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists in his sophomore season at LSU but went undrafted in last summer's NBA draft. The Trail Blazers signed him to a two-way contract and as his role has increased with the team over the season, he's "made a strong impression with coach Chauncey Billups and interim GM Joe Cronin," Wojnarowski tweeted.
Watford has averaged 4.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in 12.6 minutes per game this season. He's taken on a larger role as the Blazers have reshaped their roster over the past month. In February, his minutes have increased to 18.4 per game and he's upped his averages to 6.4 points and 5.0 rebounds.
Smith Jr. signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Blazers in the 2021 offseason and won a roster spot in training camp. In 37 games with Portland this season, he averaged 5.6 points and 3.6 assists. He's expected to be out until at least mid-March due to a right elbow injury.
The Blazers (25-34) have won four in a row and are currently in 10th place in the Western Conference standings with 23 games left in the regular season. Their next game is Thursday at home against the Golden State Warriors.
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