Trendon Watford, former LSU star, lands 4-year deal with NBA squad

Trendon Watford didn’t hear his name called in the 2021 NBA Draft despite playing 2 solid years at LSU.

But, after the draft, he signed a 2-way contract with the Portland Trail Blazers. Since then, his career has been on an upward trajectory.

In 33 games for the Blazers this year, he’s averaged 4.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 12.6 minutes per contest. That has impressed team officials enough to reward him with a 4-year, $5.8 million contract, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:

Watford, undrafted out of LSU, has worked his way into Portland's rotation and made a strong impression with coach Chauncey Billups and interim GM Joe Cronin. Watford's averaged 6.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in 17 minutes per game over the Blazers' past 10.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 21, 2022

Watford took to Twitter shortly after the report broke to confirm that he was indeed sticking around in Portland:

https://twitter.com/trendonw/status/1495840407758032898

With his future secure, it’ll be interesting to see if Watford can earn even more minutes in the games following the All-Star Break. Due to recent trades by Portland, there should be plenty of opportunity available for the ex-LSU forward.