Al-Farouq Aminu Signs With Portland for 4 Years and $30 Million

Al-Farouq Aminu was a name that was tossed around as a potential Clipper target with the mini-mid-level exception, but ultimately it was understood that he would demand a greater price than the 3-year, $10 million contract the Clippers could offer a new starting small forward.  However, the expectation was that he would get full MLE money: something in the range of 4 years and 20-24 million.  The real contract, which ends up at 4 years and $30 million, is a bad sign for the Clippers.

With the surprising announcement today that the cap is being projected at $2 million higher than previously anticipated, and the impending jump of the salary cap by almost $40 million between this summer and next, teams will fell free to spend this summer as though it were next summer, since by the time they have to come back to free agency the cap will have skyrocketed.

The market price for small forwards has just been set, and it was set a lot higher than expected.  This could be bad news for the Clippers, who were hoping to reach small forwards such as Gerald Green and Mike Dunleavy, Jr. with their mMLE.