The Trail Blazers' "Sheriff" is having his six shooter evaluated. Again.

Festus Ezeli did not travel with the team to Houston for its five-game East Coast trip on Wednesday, according to coach Terry Stotts, opting instead to seek another medical opinion on his ailing left knee. The defensive-minded center, signed as a free agent by the Blazers over the summer to shore up their interior defense, has not played in a game this season while recovering from an August procedure on his knee.

Ezeli appeared to be making progress toward a return last month, when he went through portions of a practice on Oct. 18 and announced afterward that "The Sheriff (was) back in town." But he has endured swelling and pain since and, apparently, there is concern about the long-term health of his knee.

This is not the first time Ezeli has experienced problems with his knees. He missed the entire 2013-14 NBA season after undergoing surgery on his right knee to reinforce his MCL and PCL and had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in January. The Blazers and Ezeli have long insisted that he's in the middle of a "process" with his rehabilitation and, as far back as media day, President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey hinted that it might take months for the 6-foot-11 center to see the floor.

Ezeli's latest medical checkup suggests this process could drag on longer than expected.

Ezeli is scheduled to rejoin the Blazers after they land in New York on Sunday.

Slumping Leonard shoots long after loss

Long after the Blazers left the Moda Center Tuesday night, with a humbling 113-88 loss to the Chicago Bulls fresh on their minds, one player stayed on the court for a little extra work.

Meyers Leonard, who has been filling in for the injured Al-Farouq Aminu in the starting lineup, went through an extensive postgame shooting session. At the basket near the visiting bench, the 7-foot-1 big man hoisted shots from a variety of spots until well after 10 p.m. as video coordinator/player development coach Jonathan Yim rebounded.

Leonard has been mired in a long-range shooting slump most of the season and endured a particularly cold outing Tuesday, when he missed all six of his field goals, including all five of his three-point attempts. Leonard, whose size and shooting are his greatest strengths, is shooting just 33 percent from the field this season (18 for 55), including 21 percent from three-point range (6 for 29). Over the last four games, when he's seen a significant uptick in playing time because of Aminu's absence, Leonard has made just 2 of 17 three-pointers.

Stotts embraces Pride Night at Moda Center

In an effort to "celebrate diversity and inclusion," the Blazers on Tuesday hosted "Pride Night" at the Moda Center. As they lost on the court, the Blazers did a variety of things off the court to raise awareness and money to support the LGBTQ community. As part of the festivities, the team created special rainbow lapel pins in the shape of its iconic pinwheel logo for staff to wear.

Stotts had one attached to his suitas he roamed the sideline.

"I'm supporting diversity," Stotts said. "I think Portland is very supportive of various lifestyles and I've got friends and family who fall into those groups. So I'm being supportive."

Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com 503-294-5183 @BlazerFreeman