Portland Trail Blazers forward Jake Layman has agreed to a three-year deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves via a sign-and-trade.
Per Adrian Wojnarowski, the deal three-year deal is worth $11.5 million.
Portland restricted free agent F Jake Layman is signing a three-year, $11.5M deal with Minnesota, agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN. Minnesota is acquiring Layman in a sign-and-trade agreement with the Blazers.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 4, 2019
In addition, the Timberwolves are using a trade exception to absorb Layman — which is an alternative way for teams without enough cap space to acquire players.
Bartelstein on Layman sign-and-trade: "The deal couldn’t have happened without the Blazers looking out for Jake’s best interests.”
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 4, 2019
Layman was the 47th overall pick by the Orlando Magic in 2016. He was subsequently traded on draft night to the Trail Blazers. In his first two seasons with the team, the 6-foot-9 forward saw limited minutes.
But last year — his third season — the 25-year-old was able to carve out a role in the Terry Stotts-coached squad. He played a career-best 71 games (33 starts) where he averaged 7.6 points and 3.1 rebounds across 18.7 minutes. He also shot 50.9 percent from the field and 32.6 percent from deep.
Now, he'll be joining the young Timberwolves helmed by Ryan Saunders. It would be interesting how the young head coach will utilize Layman's 3-point shooting ability and athleticism. The team already has the likes of Robert Covington, Josh Okogie, Jarret Culver, and Andrew Wiggins who are about the same size as Layman and can also shoot.
But as Layman showcased last season, he can turn into a great role player as long as he's given the opportunity to play.
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