National Basketball Association

Festus Ezeli's time with Portland Trail Blazers one big "what if?"

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:43 p.m. ET

Fansided, Raymond Simms/FanSided via Hoops Habit

Dec 20, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Festus Ezeli (31) poses for a photo against the Sacramento Kings during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

In what ways could Festus Ezeli have contributed had he played for the Portland Trail Blazers in 2016-17?

The Festus Ezeli Era ends in Rip City before it even began.

On Jul. 8, 2016, Ezeli signed a two-year, $15.2 million deal with the Portland Trail Blazers. The 6'11", 265-pound center was a key signing to help bolster the Blazer frontcourt. He was also brought in as a veteran voice and someone with championship experience. Ezeli won a ring in 2015 with the Golden State Warriors, his previous team.

Unfortunately, problems with his left knee persisted throughout the season. As a result, he never stepped on the court for the 2016-17 Trail Blazers.

General manager Neil Olshey directly stated at his Apr. 25 exit interview that Ezeli would not be returning to the team in 2017-18.

"No. No. We stay in contact with Festus, giving him full organizational support in terms of his rehab. But we can't have that kind of a risk again, to have a roster spot at a critical position for someone we're not – we don't have a body of work with him."

With that declaration, Ezeli's time in Portland will be nothing more than quirky trivia. Now, fans can only wonder what impact he could have made on the floor for the Blazers.

Had he been able to play, Ezeli would have been slotted in as the backup center behind Mason Plumlee. Ezeli isn't the passer that Plumlee is. However, the Blazers wouldn't have missed a beat in the pick-and-roll game. Both are able to set great screens for guards and wings to work with.

Ezeli's ability to roll to the basket may have also opened up some alley-oop opportunities. According to NBA.com's shooting splits, he accounted for 33 of the Warriors' 116 made alley-oops. The Blazers only lobbed 33 total in 2015-16, and their output rose to 44 in 2016-17.

Needless to say, he is a good at-the-rim scorer. According to Basketball-Reference, Ezeli's average field goal attempt distance in 2015-16 was 2.9 feet from the basket, and 64.9 percent of his shots came within three feet of the rim. He converted 68.2 percent of them.

He also would have been the best rim protector on the roster. Ezeli averaged 2.3 blocks per 36 minutes with Golden State in 2015-16. It was actually a drop-off from his 3.0 per 36 minutes in 2014-15. Still, his 2016 number would have been tops on the Blazers in 2016-17.

In reality, late addition Jusuf Nurkic – brought in from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Plumlee – ended up taking the mantle as the team's top rim protector. Nurkic averaged 2.3 blocks per 36 minutes in his 20 games with Portland.

That brings up another fact: Ezeli's success on the floor would have affected the trajectory of the Blazers' future. Ezeli's play works with what Plumlee can do. His good health would have negated the need to bring in Nurkic, a player that possesses both of their skill sets.

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In the process, Portland also wouldn't have received Denver's 2017 first round pick, which could be valuable on the trade market.

His presence also would have eaten into the minutes that Noah Vonleh and Meyers Leonard received. The extended minutes they got produced different effects. Vonleh showed signs of growth while Meyers Leonard struggled mightily. It's up in the air how their development would have gone in 2016-17 had they both remained on the bench behind Ezeli and Ed Davis.

But even if Ezeli were able to play for Portland in 2017, injuries still would have been a looming concern. His knee problems have hampered him for much of his NBA career.

Ezeli managed to play 78 games in his rookie season with the Warriors. However, he missed the 2013-14 season after undergoing right knee surgery in June 2013.

He returned for the 2014-15 season, but sprained his left ankle in the middle of the season. He only ended up playing 46 regular season games. However, he eventually returned to help Golden State win a title.

In 2015-16 he missed another large chunk of time after undergoing arthroscopic left knee surgery. He missed games from late January to early April, again only playing 46 games. But he was once again able to return in time to aid the Warriors in their NBA Finals run.

His 2016-17 season was lost due to complications from a left knee injection. He received the injection in August 2016 and was ruled out for six weeks. By November he suffered a setback when his knee began swelling. His recovery was in limbo until it was finally decided in March 2017 that he would undergo season-ending surgery.

Festus Ezeli leaves Portland without ever donning a Blazers uniform in-game. He is a fantastic interior player that is unfortunately marred with injury issues. We'll see if another team is willing to take a flyer on him once he is back on the market. Hopefully he can excel in that new setting if someone does.