Portland Trail Blazers: 3 players who could have a breakout 2018-19 season

3. Jake Layman

Jake Layman is going into this third season in the league and the third year usually will tell if a player can make it or not in NBA. Year three was when McCollum established himself as an elite guard and when Crabbe and Connaughton showed they could be role players who help win games. Now it’s time to see what Layman can do.

In 2018 NBA Summer League, Layman had a strong outing and looked way sharper than he has the previous two seasons. He shot the ball from the 3-point line extremely well, showed he can handle the ball and is smart playing off of the ball. Layman averaged 13.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 23.1 minutes per game while shooting 57.1 percent from the field and 54.2 percent from the 3-point line in Summer League.

Layman is sneaky athletic, and he has no problem getting to the rim and finishing with a layup, lob or dunk. He also competes on defense, fights for rebounds and makes smarts cuts to get open on offense.

If he can come into training camp and play with the confidence he showed in Summer League, Layman could see some meaningful playing time. At 6’9”, he can play small forward and maybe even a small-ball power forward and space the floor with his excellent shooting ability. The Blazers need reliable shooters on the wing and are hoping Layman can help out with that this year.