Agent: Trail Blazers sign swingman Webster to 4-year extension

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Only a handful of players selected in the NBA's 2005 draft will have received a contract extension before Friday's midnight deadline, but you can add Portland Trail Blazers swingman Martell Webster to that list.

Webster

Webster's agent, Bob Myers, told ESPN.com that the 21-year-old has signed a four-year extension with the Blazers believed to be worth $20 million, very similar to the deal Jason Maxiell received Thursday from the Detroit Pistons.

The fourth season of Webster's new contract, which will kick in next season, is at the Blazers' option.

Webster was projected to start for the Blazers this season but is expected to miss two months recovering from recent foot surgery. He joins Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers and Detroit's Maxiell as the only members of the 2005 draft class to receive contract extensions this month, although Danny Granger's agent says the Pacers forward has also reached a deal.

New Orleans' Chris Paul and Utah's Deron Williams received maximum contract extensions during the summer. Milwaukee center Andrew Bogut scored a five-year deal worth a guaranteed $60 million.

If there are no further deals before Friday's midnight deadline, New York's David Lee would rank as the most high-profile member of the class of 2005 not to receive an extension.

Denver's Linas Kleiza appeared close to an extension all week, but his agent, Bill Duffy, told the online edition of the Rocky Mountain News that talks have been abandoned.

"[Nuggets owner Stan] Kroenke decided [Friday morning] he wanted to keep some flexibility open and we don't disagree with that," Duffy told the newspaper. "We think that [Kleiza] has some options."

The sides were discussing a four-year deal in the $25 million range, but Kleiza will now become a restricted free agent July 1.

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.

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Marc Stein | email

Senior Writer, ESPN.com

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• Senior NBA writer for ESPN.com
• Began covering the NBA in 1993-94
• Also covered soccer, tennis and the Olympics