Festus Ezeli: Latest News, Rumors, Speculation on Warriors C's Future
It's a great time to be a free agent in the NBA, as Golden State Warriors center Festus Ezeli will likely find out this summer.
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Ezeli Expected to Get Lucrative Deal
Thursday, May 5
Per Sean Deveney of Sporting News, citing executives around the NBA, expectations are for Ezeli to get a three-year, $50 million deal as a restricted free agent this summer.
One general manager told Deveney that he doesn't think a team would want to go beyond three years because of Ezeli's health issues, but "he still has a lot of upside and he can get better in a bigger role.”
The health problems will make negotiations for Ezeli interesting. He missed the entire 2013-14 season after undergoing knee surgery, has missed 72 total games the past two seasons and had arthroscopic left knee surgery in February that caused him to sit out six weeks.
When healthy, Ezeli has been an effective big man off the bench. He averaged a career-high seven points and 5.6 rebounds per game this season.
Deveney did note it was unclear if the Warriors would want to keep Ezeli, even though his preference is to stay with Golden State "under the assumption that he would take over as the team’s starter when Andrew Bogut’s contract is up after next season."
However, Deveney noted the Warriors have used smaller lineups in the postseason, and that would mean limited minutes for Ezeli if they use that strategy more often next season.
There's more money available in the NBA right now than ever before, which will lead to teams spending more on second- and third-tier players than in the past. Size is one thing that teams have almost universally spent liberally on because it's so hard to find.
Ezeli is certainly a skilled big man capable of impacting games, but it all depends on how his legs hold up over the course of an 82-game season that will determine his upside and value on the market.
