Norman Powell, Portland Trail Blazers (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The Portland Trail Blazers inked three players on day one of free agency, and re-signing Norman Powell was by far the most important move made.
The Blazers traded away young star Gary Trent Jr., who just re-upped with the Toronto Raptors for three years, $18 million per season, and Rodney Hood for Powell and his Bird rights. With that exception, they were able to operate over the salary cap to retain him.
Here’s why re-signing Norman Powell might be the most important thing that General Manager Neil Olshey and the Blazers brass do all offseason: