Portland Trail Blazers: Three players not likely to return next season
By Jerry Trotta
Caleb Swanigan
This was a toss-up between Caleb Swanigan and Gabriel, but something tells us that the Trail Blazers liked what they saw from the latter, who came over in the midseason trade that Kent Bazemore to the Sacramento Kings and Trevor Ariza to Portland.
Gabriel, a former five-star recruit and rookie out of Kentucky, spent most of the 2019 season with the G-League Stockton Kings and was almost an afterthought of that aforementioned deal.
What gives the 23-year-old the edge over Swanigan — who was the other highlight of that trade considering that the Blazers drafted him No. 26 overall in 2017 — is the value that Gabriel’s 7’1″ wingspan brings on the defensive side of the floor.
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Gabriel still needs to be groomed, but we see no reason why he shouldn’t have a role off Stotts’ bench next season. Better still, he’ll be exceptionally cheap to re-sign, perhaps even cheaper than Swanigan.
As for Swanigan, Portland would be better off cutting its losses on the former Purdue star than to keep giving him chances to prove his worth. Primarily, the 22-year-old prefers to play in the paint and on the post. At 6’9″, he’s just not properly sized to do only that.
There’s nothing with admitting that some players are just better suited for the G-League, and Swanigan might just be one of them. Expect the Trail Blazers to officially divorce themselves from the former first-round pick this offseason.