By all accounts, the Portland Trail Blazers were one of the biggest winners of the NBA trade deadline.
More specifically, the Blazers traded three sparingly-used, although talented, young prospects in Thomas Robinson, Victor Claver, and Will Barton, who were averaging 12.2, 7.6, and 10.0 minutes per game thus far this season, respectively, along with a 2016 lottery-protected first-round pick and a future second-round pick, in exchange for rugged swingman Alonzo Gee and two-way stud Arron Afflalo, from the Denver Nuggets.
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Afflalo will immediately bolster the Blazers’ rather shallow bench; a problem hindering Rip City’s championship aspirations over the past two seasons.
Even with the offseason acquisitions of Steve Blake and Chris Kaman, Portland’s contingent of reserves still floundered. In fact, the Blazers are currently ranked 28th in bench points and 17th in bench net efficiency, per HoopsStats.com.
By obtaining the services of Afflalo, the Blazers can potentially remedy the team’s shortlist of plaguing ailments.
Undoubtedly, Afflalo’s skill set — particularly, his ability to operate in the post, much like Wesley Matthews, and proficiency as a catch-and-shoot specialist — will fit seamlessly within Portland’s motion offense.
Additionally, Afflalo will give the Blazers the luxury of having three top-tier perimeter wing defenders — the other two, of course, being Matthews and Nicolas Batum; and combined with the return of Robin Lopez, Portland is now fully-equipped to recapture their early season stifling form on the defensive end.
Ultimately, the trade helps the Blazers fill a specific need, as they were outwardly trying to add an established wing as insurance to combat Batum’s season long struggles.
Most notably, Batum is on pace to record career lows in eFG% (effective field goal percentage), true shooting percentage (TS%), 3-point percentage, and 3-point percentage on corner threes, per Basketball-Reference.
And while Batum is still his usually stealth self as a playmaker and defender, his woeful shooting, caused presumably by his lingering wrist injury, would have been extensively exploited during the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Afflalo is similarly experiencing a down shooting season; however, his drop-off isn’t nearly as drastic. One would expect, playing off of All-Stars, LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard, in conjunction under coach Terry Stotts’ flow system, Afflalo’s percentages to sky-rocket back to his career averages.
According to NBA.com’s SportVU Data, 35.2 percent of the Blazers’ field goal attempts as a team derive off of catch-and-shoot opportunities, where Portland scores on a 51.4 percent eFG% rate on said situations.
While Afflalo is only scoring effectively at 53.7 percent (eFG%) and 35.2 percent from beyond the arc on catch-and-shoot opportunities this season, the veteran swingman, last year, shot at a blistering 43.9 percent from behind the 3-point line and an eFG% of 57.9 percent when used as a catch and shoot artist.
Additionally, Afflalo shot at a 48.9 percent clip on corner threes last season, per Basketball-Reference.
The Blazers’ offense will also enjoy a sizable dose of continuity. With Matthews on the bench, their offensive scheme will not have to overtly deviate, as Afflalo is a highly efficient and skilled post player. In fact, on 102 postups this season, the stocky two-guard has produced 0.99 points per possession (PPP).
Comparatively, Matthews scores at a 0.97 PPP rate on his 114 postups thus far this season, per NBA.com’s SportVU Data.
Alarmingly, however, Arron’s defensive impact has taken several steps back over the last several years. Explicitly, during the 2013-14 campaign and the incumbent 2014-15 season, Afflalo has ranked 63rd and 53rd, respectively, among shooting guards in Defensive Plus-Minus (DRPM), per ESPN.com.
Before assuming a larger offensive role, though, Afflalo had always been a household name when discussing the premier 3-and-D wings around the association. Without the burden of carrying the load offensively on the perimeter, it is reasonable to presume that “Spell Check” can have a Rajon Rondo-like resurrection on the defensive end.
Furthermore, the low-key addition of Gee gives the Blazers another high-energy athletic wing, capable of defending the more physically-imposing small forwards the NBA has to offer.
And although only 17.5 percent of his shots come from behind the 3-point line, Gee is shooting a career high 41.7 percent this season from the land of the great beyond, including 45.0 percent from the corners, per Basketball-Reference.
With a slew of new toys to work with, the ball is now in Stotts’ proverbial court. Chiefly, Portland’s new-age head coach must learn to trust his bench.
The reserves on the Blazers’ roster were never short on talent this season, as Blake, Kaman, and Dorell Wright are all established veterans, while C.J. McCollum, injuries aside, has shown flashes of being an explosive scoring combo guard.
But Stotts has often given his bench too tight of a leash. Now, with Afflalo, a high end starting caliber wing coming off the Blazer bench, it is imperative upon Stotts that he now fully utilizes all of his pieces — and not just his starting five.
Next: Portland Trail Blazers: 5 Trends To Keep An Eye On After The All-Star Break
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