Big news for Frenchman Olivier Sarr at the Blazers!

The beginnings of Olivier Sarr in the NBA are not easy, the pivot not yet managing to find a concrete place in a roster. In Portland for a few weeks, he also had the right to a big update regarding his future there.

While players like Victor Wembanyama are already promised a bright future in the NBA, the situation is a little more complicated for some of his compatriots who are already across the Atlantic. We think for example of Olivier Sarr, who had not been kept by OKC last year despite an interesting freelance (7 points and 4 rebounds on average in 22 games). Already not originally drafted, the interior passed by Wake Forest and Kentucky would therefore have to fight to stay in the NBA.

Because in this kind of case, the franchises do not hesitate to offer precarious contracts, in order to keep a certain flexibility in the finances as in the rotation. Proof by being the lease that the Habs accepted to the Blazers early September since it was an Exhibit 10 contract. In other words, the Niortais by birth had no choice but to shine during his stay in Oregon, in order to extend it by ten days .

Not necessarily an easy situation therefore, but the pivot is someone who is a fighter and who intends to realize his NBA dreams in the long term. Obviously, his efforts have also paid off since, as the very well informed Adrian Wojnarowski revealed on social networks, Rip City has decided to upgrade Sarr’s contract. His Exhibit 10 has therefore been converted into a two-way contract, which should allow him to get much more playing time:

Promotion for Olivier Sarr in Portland

The Portland Trail Blazers are converting center Olivier Sarr to a two-way contract, source tells ESPN. Sarr played 22 games for OKC as a rookie after college stops at Wake Forest and Kentucky.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 13, 2022

The Portland Trail Blazers are converting center Olivier Sarr to a two-way contract, sources tell ESPN. Sarr played 22 games for OKC after college freelances at Wake Forest and Kentucky.

So of course, this in no way guarantees that the Frenchy would have a place in coach Chauncey Billups’ rotation in 2022-23. On the other hand, he will still be able to play minutes with the Portland-affiliated G League team if necessary, which will give him the opportunity to show off.

We can therefore be optimistic for the big man, who has some good qualities to show off and who even dropped some good performances with OKC last year. Bad luck, the season started badly for him, as the league shared in a press release:

Trail Blazers center Olivier Sarr left Tuesday night’s game at Golden State with a sprained right wrist. An MRI performed on Wednesday confirmed the diagnosis. A return date will be established after further evaluation within a week.

Olivier Sarr will start the 2022-23 season injured, but he has at least been able to secure a contract with the Blazers before that. Hopefully he won’t find himself falling too far behind once he’s out of the infirmary, in order to snatch a spot alongside Damian Lillard.