Look for emerging youth, same Damian Lillard in Portland
By Ty Delbridge
3. Up to 3 Blazers could play in Rising Stars game
The Portland Trail Blazers may have one of the better starting lineups and bench units in the NBA, but they also have one of the more talented groups of young guys in the league. They have seven players who are 24 or younger. Here is the list:
- Nassir Little-19
- Jaylen Hoard-20
- Anfernee Simons-20
- Gary Trent Jr.-20
- Zach Collins-21
- Skal Labissière-23
- Mario Hezonja- 24
Going into this season, Collins and Hezonja will both play meaningful roles for the team. But Simons is going to be taking over the backup guard spot opened by Seth Curry leaving and there is also a chance that Trent and Little crack the rotation throughout the regular season. Usually, coach Terry Stotts doesn’t like to play young guys, but he may make an exception for these three.
Simons has a ton of hype coming into the year and proved he is ready to contribute at the end of the last season and in the 2019-20 Summer League. He will play consistently backing up Lillard and McCollum and has a chance to be a huge X-factor for this team. Simons has gotten pretty high praise from Blazers GM Neil Olshey and star Damian Lillard.
Trent has shown to be a solid one-on-one scorer, can also spread the floor and knock down 3-pointers and plays decent defense. He is a smart player who knows his role and won’t try to do too much coming off the bench. If anything happens to Kent Bazemore or Rodney Hood, Trent could take over their spot. He has the physical profile to play right away at 6’6”, 205 pounds.
Little should have been a lottery or even a top-five pick in the draft, but after a shaky freshman season at UNC, he slipped all to the Blazers at No. 25. His basketball skills are still improving, but Little is 6’6”, 220 pounds, and is a powerful, quick athlete.
Little can play both forward spots, and if he can play defense, grab rebounds, run the floor and plays with energy, he could see some minutes for the team. The Blazers don’t have anyone like him out on the wing, and Stotts may try to find ways to get the rookie involved early.
If all three guys can see minutes and make some plays when they do see the floor, they have a chance to represent the Blazers during the NBA All-Star weekend in the Rising Stars game. Simons will more than likely be in that game and could maybe even find himself in the skills competition and dunk or 3-point contest.
Little and Trent are long shots to play in the game, but if the Blazers are one of the top teams in the league come that time and both guys have played in more than 12-15 games, they might get selected. It would be super fun to see all three guys get a shot, but even if only Simons get picked, Rip City would still very happy.