Portland Trail Blazers: 3 X-factors for success in NBA’s Orlando restart
3. The arrival of Jaylen Adams
Replacing Ariza with Adams might seem strange at first. Ariza is a long-time veteran forward comfortable playing key minutes in a leadership role, while Adams is a young point guard whose only NBA action has come with the Atlanta Hawks.
Adams proved this year, however, that he has real NBA potential, developing into one of the best players in the G League while playing for the Wisconsin Herd. The St. Bonaventure product averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 assists, and 5.1 rebounds for the Herd. He dropped 39 points in one game (hitting six three-pointers in the contest) and dished 14 assists in one of his last games of the season. He was named to the All-NBA G League First Team at the conclusion of the year.
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In 2018-19, Adams played 34 games for the Hawks as an undrafted rookie, starting one of them. He averaged 3.2 points, 1.9 assists, and 1.8 rebounds per game during his limited minutes with the team. Those numbers aren’t great, but his college pedigree and G League numbers suggest he can improve upon that this summer.
Terry Stotts will run Lillard and CJ McCollum into the ground if he has to, but the Trail Blazers aren’t particularly deep at guard. Adams will definitely get an opportunity to earn a long-term NBA future with his play this summer.