The Trail Blazers are promoting Duop Reath to their standard roster, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the rookie center has agreed to a three-year contract with the club.
Reath, 27, signed a two-way contract with the Blazers in October and has emerged as a regular part of the team’s frontcourt rotation, appearing in 40 games so far this season, including 11 starts. He has averaged 8.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 17.4 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .475/.385/.741.
As Wojnarowski observes (Twitter link), Reath’s path to his first standard NBA contract has been an unorthodox one. He and his family fled South Sudan for a refugee camp in Kenya when he was nine years old and ultimately relocated to Australia.
After later moving to America, Reath spent two seasons at Lee College in Texas, then transferred to LSU for two more years. He went undrafted in 2018 and played professionally in Serbia, Australia, China, and Lebanon from 2018-23 before catching on with Portland. The big man was in camp with the Blazers on a non-guaranteed contract, but made enough of an impression to earn a two-way deal and has now received another promotion.
While the exact terms of Reath’s new contract aren’t yet known, the Blazers will use a portion of their mid-level exception in order to sign him for more than two seasons. The deal will be guaranteed for the rest of this season, and I’d expect it to include at least a partial guarantee for 2024/25.
The Blazers currently have a full 15-man roster, but Ashton Hagans‘ 10-day contract with the club will expire on Saturday night, opening up a spot for Reath.
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