Plumlee is expected to serve as the Trail Blazers' starting center to open the regular season, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian reports.

After an offseason of roster overhaul, the Trail Blazers are set to unveil a retooled frontcourt that is expected to lean heavily on Plumlee and Miles Leonard, whose differing skill sets should mesh well together. The sweet-shooting Leonard should give the Blazers even more floor spacing than they previously enjoyed when mid-range specialist LaMarcus Aldridge was in the fold, while Plumlee fills the role of the more traditional rim-protecting big man. Noah Vonleh and Ed Davis also figure to factor into the rotation, but Plumlee should be on tap for a career-high total in minutes regardless of which combinations of players coach Terry Stotts opts to deploy. Through two preseason games, Plumlee has posted averages of 7.5 points (on 63.6 percent shooting), 6.5 rebounds, and two assists in 23.1 minutes per contest.

Plumlee had his fourth-year team option exercised Wednesday.

The move is mostly a formality, as Plumlee has proven worthy of sticking around the league through two seasons. The move means he'll remain on his rookie deal through the 2016-17 season, at which point he'll be eligible for free agency.

Plumlee appears in line to start at center for the Blazers this season after general manager Neil Olshey listed Plumlee amongst Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Meyers Leonard on the Lowe Post podcast. "We believe that Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Al-Farouq Aminu, Meyers Leonard, and Mason Plumlee ... can do what [our young core did when I was with the Clippers]," Olshey said.

Olshey used to be the general manager of the Clippers when they had Eric Bledsoe, DeAndre Jordan, Aminu, and Blake Griffin all playing together, and Olshey was trying to make the point that this new young Blazers roster is built to grow on Lillard's career trajectory, similar to how the Clippers were built to grow around Griffin. It's good to hear what the team's plan is, because it gives us a better understanding of how the rotations might fall, which helps project fantasy value. Though Ed Davis and Chris Kaman's place on the roster makes Plumlee's value still somewhat suspect, there are plenty of reasons to think Plumlee is in position to have a career season and possibly a good enough one to make him worth drafting in the later rounds of standard leagues right now. Through 45 games as a starter last season, Plumlee played 27 minutes per game, averaging 11.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.0 steal, and 1.0 block. If Plumlee gets enough minutes, his numbers should improve enough to make him worth rostering in at least all standard head-to-head leagues. Where Plumlee's value gets a little weird is the impact his poor free-throw shooting (career 55%), which could make him such a detriment in free throw percentage that he'd become virtually unrosterable in standard rotisserie leagues, just like Dwight Howard and other big men who are atrocious at shooting free throws.

Plumlee has been traded to the Trail Blazers along with Pat Connaughton, in exchange for Steve Blake and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Adrian Wojnarowski reports.

With Robin Lopez's status in Portland up in the air, Plumlee could assume the starting role and become an instant fantasy asset. As a starter, Plumlee averaged 11.8 points and 7.6 rebounds with 1.0 blocks per game. He should go in most standard league drafts now.

The Nets are exploring their trade options with Mason Plumlee as Thursday's NBA draft approaches, Marc Stein of ESPN reports.

Plumlee proved his worth as an NBA big man last season when Brook Lopez was out for an extended time with a back injury. However, the idea that the Nets are willing to shop Plumlee shows that the team is confident Lopez, who has a player option he can exercise this offseason, will return for next season and possibly beyond. Nevertheless, should Plumlee find himself on another team next season, he should not have any issue finding heavy minutes and has a strong chance of serving as a formidable starting center.

Plumlee appeared in all 82 games in 2014-15, averaging 8.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 21.3 minutes per game.

Billed as one of the top breakout candidates in the league after a strong rookie year and summer spent with Team USA, Plumlee saw relatively limited minutes under new coach Lionel Hollins. His numbers were respectable, but he regressed as a shooter, converting 57.3 percent of his looks after posting a field goal percentage of 65.9 as a rookie. Plumlee shot nearly 76 percent at the rim last season, and that number sank to 64.6 percent in 2014-15. Perhaps the regression can be chalked up to an inconsistent role, as Plumlee saw his playing time vacillate fairly drastically throughout the year. He began the season playing fewer than 15 minutes per game over the first month but became a fixture in the rotation mid-season, having his best month in January, when he posted 13.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 steals while shooting 68.9 percent from the floor. His playing time would diminish down the stretch, however, coinciding with the emergence of Brook Lopez, who became Brooklyn's most consistent player after the All-Star break. Plumlee appeared in all six of the Nets' playoff games against Atlanta, but he averaged only 8.2 minutes per game and finished with 12 total points and eight rebounds for the series. Plumlee heads into next season on the third year of his rookie deal, which will pay him roughly $1.4 million.

Plumlee is averaging eight minutes per game off the bench through the first five contests in Brooklyn's playoff series against Atlanta.

Plumlee is providing relief off the bench to Brook Lopez but Lopez is playing major minutes through the playoffs thus far. Unless something unfortunate happens to Lopez, Plumlee is in line for minimal minutes during Brooklyn's playoff campaign.

Plumlee had four points (1-2 FG, 2-4 FT), three rebounds, one block and one assist in 12 minutes against the Pacers on Tuesday.

With the return of Thaddeus Young (knee) from injury, it's back to the bench for Plumlee. Young's return coupled with Plumlee recording five fouls, it was hard for Plumlee to stay on the floor. Young played 39 minutes.

Plumlee is expected to return to a bench role Tuesday against the Pacers.

With Thaddeus Young expected back in the lineup, the expectation is that Plumlee will return to the bench after logging a pair of starts in Young's place. Despite entering the starting lineup, Plumlee's minutes were still capped at 24 and 23 minutes, respectively, so his workload shouldn't take much of a hit as moves back to a reserve role.

Plumlee got another start Sunday and had seven points, five rebounds, three assists, and a steal in 23 minutes against the Lakers.

Plumlee has gotten two straight starts with Thaddeus Young sidelined with a knee injury, but hasn't produced much despite the minutes boost. He should remain in the starting lineup and provide decent rebounding numbers as long as Young is out, but Plumlee doesn't add much in the scoring column.

Plumlee started for Thaddeus Young (knee) and had two points (1-3 FG) and eight rebounds in 24 minutes in the win over Cleveland on Friday.

Plumlee saw a slight bump in minutes and has his highest rebounding total in his last six games. The days of Plumlee being a fantasy asset in shallower leagues are all but over, but he can be a rebounder in deeper leagues.

Plumlee will get the start Friday in place of Thaddeus Young (knee), Rod Boone of Newsday reports.

With Young being held out due to a hyperextended knee, Plumlee will enter the starting five as the Nets go with a bigger look with Brook Lopez at center. Plumlee has grabbed at least five rebounds in seven of his last eight games but rarely sees a workload of more than 15-to-22 minutes per night.

Plumlee will move to the bench for Sunday's game against the Jazz, the New York Post reports.

Plumlee will head to the bench as Brook Lopez regains his spot in the starting five Sunday. Unfortunately for Plumlee, Lopez has shown more upside of late and may ultimately retain the starting center job moving forward.

Plumlee scored 11 points (5-9 FG, 1-2 FT) with seven rebounds in 20 minutes during Wednesday's loss to the Hornets.

Seven different Nets scored between eight and 12 points, and no one played more than Deron Williams' 27 minutes, but the balanced approach didn't produce a win for Brooklyn. Plumlee's production is on a bit of an upswing again, as he's averaging 11.8 points, 7.0 boards, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 steals over his last four games, but as long as he's splitting minutes in the middle with Brook Lopez, Plumlee's fantasy value has a definite ceiling.

Plumlee played just 14 minutes during Wednesday's loss to the Pelicans, as he went scoreless (0-3 FG) with three rebounds and a steal.

Plumlee has gone three straight games in the mid-teens for minutes, as Brook Lopez has basically taken the majority of his time. With Lopez playing better and Plumlee getting such a limited amount of minutes, his fantasy value looks to be on the decline at the moment. We'll have to wait and see what coach Lionel Hollins does moving forward, but it's not looking good for Plumlee.

Plumlee recorded a double-double in Tuesday's loss to the Grizzlies, finishing with 15 points (6-10 FG, 3-3 FT), 14 rebounds, an assist and three steals in 32 minutes.

Plumlee has put in a couple of solid games in a row now, combining for 28 points, 22 rebounds and four assists over his last two games. The three steals matched a season-high for him as well and were a nice bonus for fantasy owners who played him. It would go a long way for his fantasy value if he can continue playing over or around 30 minutes per game, like he has during his last two outings, but with Brook Lopez still in the fold, it's questionable if he can do that on a nightly basis.

Plumlee had 12 points (5-5 FG, 2-6 FT), nine rebounds and one block in 36 minutes on Friday.

Plumlee missed Thursdays practice for personal reasons, but that was not a deterrent in getting him on the floor Friday. He has far beyond his 23 minute per game average for this season.

Plumlee missed practice for personal reasons but is expected to play Friday against the Raptors, Fred Kerber of the New York Post reports.

Check back on Plumlee's status Friday, but at this point expect him to start at his usual center spot Friday.

Plumlee had arguably his worst game of the season Wednesday, getting into foul trouble and finishing with just six points and two assists in 11 minutes.

Plumlee has been collecting a lot of fouls lately, and the team has also been making a concerted effort to get Brook Lopez on the court to showcase the oft-injured big man for a trade. Don't overreact to Plumlee's recent road bumps. He's the center to own out of Brooklyn.

Plumlee scored 15 points (7-9 FG, 1-1 FT) with nine rebounds in 33 minutes in the loss to Memphis on Wednesday.

Plumlee was able to produce against the Grizzlies' big boys. He has made 68 percent of his field goals over his last five games and has only missed six shots in his last three games. Brook Lopez was also in the starting lineup for Kevin Garnett (suspension), but Plumlee still produced.