According to David Aldridge of NBA.com, Brandon Bass has agreed to play for the Orlando Magic.
The Orlando Magic are trying to keep up in the arms race in the competitive Eastern Conference, agreeing to terms on Friday with free agent forward Brandon Bass on a four-year deal believed to be worth $18 million.
The 23-year-old Bass was one of the most coveted big men in this year's free agency class, having been a valuable role player off the bench for the Mavericks the past two seasons. He played in 81 games for Dallas last year, averaging 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 19 minutes a night. The Mavericks tried to keep him, but Dallas' commitment to Magic free agent center Marcin Gortat to an offer sheet made money scarce. New Orleans, Bass's first team, and Cleveland also were working to sign him.
Portland fans were long interested in the services of Bass, who many believed would provide a physical frontcourt presence off the bench. Earlier this week, Portland was mentioned as a possible destination for Bass however I wrote at the time that I believed Portland's cap space was being used as leverage to drive his price up.
Bass was also later seen by some analysts as a potential backup plan if the team's pursuit of Utah Jazz Restricted Free Agent Paul Millsap fell through. Fail.
To my knowledge, as of this writing the Blazers have still not tendered an offer sheet to Millsap.
-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)