Stotts: Aminu will start, play almost exclusively PF next season

The small forward position is where Al-Farouq Aminu has played 76 percent of his minutes over the course of his six-year career, including 56 percent in his first season as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Head coach Terry Stotts has big plans for the 25-year-old in 2016-17, including starting him at power forward and having a majority of his minutes come at the four spot, which he told ESPN's Zach Lowe.

Aminu was a starter for all 82 games last season after signing a four-year, $30-million contract last summer, which is currently a huge bargain after factoring in how high the salary cap has risen since he committed to the franchise.

At 6-foot-9, the Wake Forest alumnus is big enough to hold his own in the paint against more traditional PFs, and agile enough to get out on the perimeter to guard those who have range, something he's displayed numerous times.

Lowe points out that this move could spell doom for Noah Vonleh, who's predominantly a PF and started 56 games in that role a year ago. Vonleh came off the bench for the final 11 games, though, and only totaled a touch over 10 minutes during the team's postseason run to the Western Conference semifinals.

Evan Turner, who inked a four-year, $70-million deal as an unrestricted free agent in July, will seemingly be inserted into the lineup at SF, but Stotts has yet to sign off on such a move, especially with Allen Crabbe (four years, $75 million) in the equation.

Aminu averaged career highs in minutes (28.5), points (10.2), rebounds (6.1), and assists (1.7) for the 44-38 Trail Blazers.