Neil Olshey, Trail Blazers Reportedly Agree to Contract Extension Through 2021

The Portland Trail Blazers agreed to a contract extension with president of basketball operations Neil Olshey through 2021, ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday.

Olshey has been with the team since June 2012, when the Blazers hired him to replace former general manager Rich Cho. He had previously worked in the Los Angeles Clippers front office.            

Olshey inherited a team that had finished 28-38 during the 2011-12 season.

One of his first acts was selecting Damian Lillard with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 draft. The following year, the Blazers added CJ McCollum with the 10th selection in the 2013 draft. Both have helped Portland reach the postseason in each of the last four years. Lillard is a two-time All-Star, while McCollum was the NBA's Most Improved Player in 2015-16.

While Olshey did well to help build the Blazers into a playoff contender, he has struggled to adequately address the departure of LaMarcus Aldridge, who signed with the San Antonio Spurs in 2015.

Last offseason, Olshey spent big on extensions for McCollum and Allen Crabbe and signed Evan Turner and Festus Ezeli.

While the McCollum extension was a smart move, Ezeli earned $7.4 million without playing in a game, and the team traded Crabbe to the Brooklyn Nets this summer in what was largely seen as a salary dump. Turner, meanwhile, will earn a little over $53.6 million over the next three years in what Bleacher Report's Dan Favale listed as the third-worst contract for a small forward.

After winning 54 games in 2013-14, the Trail Blazers' win total has declined over each of the past three years, and they're facing a Western Conference in which many teams upgraded to challenge the Golden State Warriors.

Despite that, the team's ownership showed it remains satisfied with the organization's overall direction under Olshey.