the Portland Trail Blazers they are Summer League champions once again. While not the banner Portland fans dreamed of, the title was a celebration and an interesting look at the progress of some of the youngsters on the team.
While drawing definitive conclusions from Summer League is almost certainly a foolish exercise, the purpose of the Las Vegas showcase is never entirely fruitless, if you keep your expectations tempered.
Last week, I hinted at a probable turnover with nine players making up 97.5 percent of the rotation. Therefore, the real minutes remaining will only be available due to injuries or drop in form suffered by established players. But this roster is clearly short at forward and center, an imbalance GM Joe Cronin will have to address over the next 12 months.
So any young player capable of spending time in any position will definitely turn heads.
Looking ahead, seven Summer League champions are set to represent the big club next season: Trendon Watford, Brandon Williams, Shaedon Sharpe, Keon Johnson Didi Louzada, Jabari Walker and Greg Brown.
For the purposes of this article, we will skip over Watford and Sharpe as they will get minutes regardless of what others may think. (We will discuss this later.)
Brandon Williams, PG
The 22-year-old was as expected in Las Vegas, a slightly more experienced guard who knew who and what he was. As such, the 6’2 floor general was able to run this team competently against predominantly teenage/non-NBA talent.
The franchise’s only current two-way contract came to the fore in the Summer League final, sharing the spotlight with event MVP Watford. But unfortunately for Williams, the regularly-listed Blazers aren’t short on short guards with Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons, Josh Hart and Gary Payton II already in their place.
For this reason, it’s unlikely we’ll see Williams or Keon Johnson get too much time this year because of that jam on the perimeter. Don’t get me wrong, Williams is a perfectly adequate third point guard and I’m glad the Blazers brought him back. after his initial term last Christmas. But hopefully, his work this season will be limited to waving towels and clapping.
Summer League: 5 games, 13.4 points, 17.4% shooting from 3-point range, 4.4 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1 steal
Keon Johnson, SG
Johnson is still so young. At 20, he couldn’t legally celebrate the Summer League championship over a beer. For all those young people in the US, the drinking age is actually 18 in Australia, sorry to rub it.
Over the past eight months, the former first-round pick has increasingly shown that he belongs in this league, with amazing athleticism and an array of real NBA skills. In Nevada, she was able to excel on both sides of the ball, scoring in a variety of ways while using those athletic gifts to shut down opposing players.
One caveat is that the former Tennessee product can only play shooting guard, which is fine, but it will ultimately limit his playing time, given that it’s probably the busiest position on the roster. Realistically, we’ll likely see Johnson, who was traded to the Blazers from the Clippers in February, approaching next year’s trade deadline again to bring back a player in a position of need.
Summer League: 5 games, 14.2 points, 33.3 3-pointers, 3.9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.8 steals
Didi Louzada, SG
Unfortunately, the Brazilian is the least likely of the quintet to see the pitch this season. Since he came to Portland as part of the spoils in the CJ McCollum trade, Louzada hasn’t been able to display any real NBA skill.
He also didn’t help his cause in Las Vegas with lousy performances in an arena that should have allowed him to show something. The 23-year-old is fired or traded before the deadline, but at least he has a Summer League ring to take with him.
Summer League: 4 games, 0.3 points, 1.3 rebounds, 1 assist.
JabariWalker, F.
The man of the moment. Drafted 57th overall last month, Walker turned heads with his mature play on both sides of the ball. Doing a bit of everything, some Portland fans are projecting Walker joining Maurice Lucas as Portland’s only two champion-winning starting power forwards. Slow down, boys.
Let’s establish some key points. Walker is already a steal with countless deep second-round picks who’ve never smelled an NBA floor. He has the size, intelligence and ability to play both of the sought-after forward positions. In Las Vegas he showed flashes of true basketball IQ, the ability to rebound, shoot, defend and facilitate, all while he’s 6’8. Eureka.
The 19-year-old will play basketball for real this season, maybe not on opening night, maybe not until after Christmas, but he will play. He offers too many skills that the Blazers crave.
He’s green and he’ll make mistakes, but like fellow draft pick Sharpe, Walker will likely be a mainstay in the Blazers’ rotation for years to come. And as such, he will be given every opportunity to gain experience this season.
Summer League: 5 games, 12.4 points, 42.9% shooting from 3-point range, 9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1 steal
Greg Brown III, F
How can anyone not love bouncing Greg Brown III? Though he didn’t star as we’d hoped in Las Vegas, Brown is clearly still an intriguing work in progress.
In his biggest role last season, Brown showed the ability to shoot from long range. If he is able to continue to improve from beyond the arc, he will be a threat to this team, both because of his shot and his ability to get to the rim. Just don’t expect to see much of that in the next season.
Summer League: 4 games, 7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1 steal, 1.3 blocks
Why don’t we include Watford and Sharpe?
Trendon Watford is going to play this season. He’s in the rotation, if only for the fact that there’s no one taller than 6-foot-9 behind Jusuf Nurkic on the depth chart. The Summer League Finals MVP skill set allows the Blazers to pick up the pace while retaining some semblance of rebounding ability.
During the Summer League we saw more composure and maturity from Watford with the ball in their hands, which we can probably thank for the extra opportunity given by manager Chauncey Billups last season. Watford will play around 15 minutes a night, potentially more if Jusuf Nurkic is overloaded or has foul trouble.
As for Sharpe, we had some reassuring news on Wednesday, confirming that the 19-year-old enigma would not need shoulder surgery after playing just six minutes in the Summer League. The night Sharpe was drafted seventh by the Blazers, Cronin openly declared that the Canadian wing was ready to contribute immediately.
Let’s see what happens in camp and during the preseason, but given the value of the asset used to bring him to Portland, don’t be surprised if Sharpe gets more minutes than most Portland rookies traditionally do.
conclusion
The Blazers have another piece of hardware to show off. But what about the players who earned it? I’d love to see more of Keon Johnson, but I can’t imagine any real way he’ll step onto the floor on this guard-packed roster.
Of the five, it’s obvious that Jabari Walker is the most likely to get minutes for two pretty obvious reasons. One, he plays a needy position for the Blazers. Yes, he’s more of a power forward, but I don’t see anything stopping him from having time at all three, one of the slimmest positions on this list. Two, he actually has skills that can help this team and an exuberance to do the little things that matter. Summer league was huge, but let’s see what he can do on a real NBA court.