Portland Trail Blazers: 5 possible two-way contract candidates

1. Deng Adel

Deng Adel is a prospect that received some buzz early on, but ultimately went undrafted in 2018. Last season, he was a part of a Louisville Cardinals program that lost Donovan Mitchell to the NBA and was picking up the pieces after being under FBI investigation. Even with the adversity, Adel still finished the season as the team’s leading scorer, averaging 15.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

After not hearing his name called on draft night, the South Sudanese wing signed on with the Houston Rockets for Summer League play. He finished the circuit averaging 8.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals in four games. More notably, he shot 71.4 percent from 3-point range, knocking down five of his seven attempts in Las Vegas.

Adel looks like he has the potential to be a productive wing scorer and playmaker. He has shown he can score well from anywhere on the floor, can create his own shot when needed and has a knack for finding the open man. He had four or more assists in 11 of his 34 games last year, including eight on Feb. 24 against Virginia Tech.

In the modern NBA, anybody can use a player like Deng Adel. However, the Blazers specifically should look to sign him, as this athletic forward could eventually develop into another player that can help them stretch the floor. This would allow Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic to operate comfortably in their spaces and prevent defenses from swarming in on them. Adel already has the tools, he just needs the right place to develop them.