Portland Trail Blazers: 4 plug-and-play prospects at No. 25

2. Ty Jerome

Position: SG/PG
Height: 6’5.5”/6’4” wingspan
Weight: 194 pounds
Age: 21

Coming off a national championship, Ty Jerome played tremendously and earned enough hype to make him a first round prospect. Jerome is not the fastest, quickest or most explosive athlete. However, he is an extremely high-IQ player on both ends of the floor and will carve out a role in the NBA because of it, just like Jose Calderon and former Blazer Sergio Rodriguez.

Jerome does whatever the team needs him to do to win. He plays hard on defense, is an unselfish teammate, rebounds and dives for loose balls. He is a knockdown shooter who can shoot the ball off the dribble or in spot-up situations, and is an excellent playmaker/ball-handler who will thrive running the pick-and-roll.

Portland is probably losing Seth Curry and maybe even Rodney Hood this summer, and could use some backcourt depth. Jerome would be a solid backup point guard behind Lillard and could also play in some three-guard lineups because of his size and shooting.

Despite his athletic limitations, Jerome is an ideal fit in Terry Stotts’ offensive/defensive systems. He could run the second unit and would be able to play both on and off the ball. His experience, confidence and IQ would be an excellent paring alongside the younger Anfernee Simons, who will likely see a more substantial role this year.