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Portland Trail Blazers: Grading every free agency move so far

By Austin Carroll

MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 27: Hassan Whiteside #21 of the Miami Heat greets Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers at American Airlines Arena on October 27, 2018 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 27: Hassan Whiteside #21 of the Miami Heat greets Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers at American Airlines Arena on October 27, 2018 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Portland Trail Blazers – Anthony Tolliver (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
Portland Trail Blazers – Anthony Tolliver (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Signing Anthony Tolliver to a one-year, $2.6 million deal

Alright, time to see who the real Portland Trail Blazers fans are. As some of you may remember, this isn’t the first time Blazers legend Anthony Tolliver has donned a Portland uniform.

Back in 2009, Tolliver signed a contract with the Blazers where he would go on to play an impressive four minutes total and get waived just 12 days later…

… OK, maybe it’s not your fault if you don’t remember Tolliver’s time in Portland. After all, it just wasn’t that memorable. That being said, there’s a lot of reason to get excited about this signing a whole decade later.

Tolliver is one of those veterans who survived by adapting to the modern NBA. Since 2013-14, he has shot 39.3 percent from 3-point range on just shy of four attempts per game. In 2018, Tolliver ranked out as the No. 7 best 3-point shooter in the NBA.

With the addition of Bazemore and Tolliver, the Portland Trail Blazers’ offensive scheme should be totally revamped with more spacing to allow the guards to play more efficiently. As crazy as it sounds, these marginal improvements might just help Lillard and McCollum have their best seasons yet.

Although Tolliver is a great addition at such a low price, his signing has even bigger implications. After the passing of Blazers owner Paul Allen, many were concerned about Jody Allen’s determination to dip into the luxury tax and commit large sums of money to the team.

If the Hassan Whiteside trade and Tolliver signing are any indication, it seems Jody is going to do her brother’s memory justice. The Portland Trail Blazers are incredibly lucky to have an ownership that’s willing to shell out everything they can to help the organization succeed.

Grade: A+

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Check back in for any more updates and analysis on the Portland Trail Blazers’ hectic offseason developments.