The Portland Trail Blazers made some big changes this offseason; likewise, so did Blazers’ forward Dorell Wright. Over the summer, Wright got married, in what was described as one of the hottest weddings of the summer. Most everybody who is anybody in the NBA was there. Wright also took a trip back to his high school recently and was active principal for the day. According to Sandy Mazza of the Daily Breeze, Wright told students:
"“Good morning Leu House, I am honored to return to my roots as Principal for a Day,” Wright said. “Just a reminder: Please be on time. Time is money. You can’t get any money if you’re late. You cannot learn what you need if you are not here.”"
Heading into the 2014-15 season, we’ll see if ‘The Principal’ can take some of his own advice; Time on the court is money.
With the addition of Steve Blake and Chris Kaman in free agency this offseason, the Blazers have added some much need stability to the bench unit. The Blazers’ seven-man rotation, assuming everyone is healthy, of Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews, Nic Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, Robin Lopez, Blake, and Kaman looks strong. We can also expect to see a healthy dose of the energizer Thomas Robinson off the bench. In the early part of the season, this will likely be the Blazers’ eight-man rotation, but I assume head coach Terry Stotts will try to get some run out his younger players like Will Barton and C.J. McCollum, as well. Which begs the question, where does Wright fit in?
Minutes will be hard to come by, as the starting five is so good, but there is a void at wing in the second unit. Wright will be expected to fill that void, and should he excel, he’ll likely be one of the staples in the rotation throughout the season. Right now, the Blazers don’t really have a backup for Batum. McCollum and Barton are guards, and Stotts does not seem to trust Victor Claver. If Batum misses time with injuries or gets in foul trouble, Wright might have to take over his spot.
Look, I’m also realistic. I know Wright, entering his 11th season, will likely not show much improvement this year with the Blazers. In his career, he’s a 36 percent three-point shooter and has never shot better than 40 percent in any of his ten seasons.
| Season | Tm | G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P% | AST | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-05 | MIA | 3 | 9.0 | 1.0 | 3.7 | .273 | .000 | 1.0 | 2.3 |
| 2005-06 | MIA | 20 | 6.6 | 1.0 | 2.2 | .465 | .500 | 0.4 | 2.9 |
| 2006-07 | MIA | 66 | 19.6 | 2.5 | 5.5 | .445 | .147 | 1.4 | 6.0 |
| 2007-08 | MIA | 44 | 25.1 | 3.3 | 6.7 | .488 | .364 | 1.4 | 7.9 |
| 2008-09 | MIA | 6 | 12.2 | 1.3 | 3.3 | .400 | 0.3 | 3.0 | |
| 2009-10 | MIA | 72 | 20.8 | 2.7 | 5.8 | .463 | .389 | 1.3 | 7.1 |
| 2010-11 | GSW | 82 | 38.4 | 5.9 | 14.0 | .423 | .376 | 3.0 | 16.4 |
| 2011-12 | GSW | 61 | 27.0 | 3.6 | 8.6 | .422 | .360 | 1.5 | 10.3 |
| 2012-13 | PHI | 79 | 22.6 | 3.0 | 7.6 | .396 | .374 | 1.9 | 9.2 |
| 2013-14 | POR | 68 | 14.5 | 1.6 | 4.4 | .374 | .342 | 0.9 | 5.0 |
| Career | 501 | 23.3 | 3.2 | 7.4 | .426 | .364 | 1.6 | 8.7 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/17/2014.
Still, I am hopeful that Wright can be the answer at backup wing to open the floor for the Blazers other scorers, especially by making corner threes. At this point, we should all know how valuable making corner threes are in the NBA. I’m still optimistic Wright can help be that guy to the Blazers and give them an advantage.
Last season, Wright only played in seven games as the starting small forward (so alongside Lillard, Matthews, Aldridge, and Lopez). In those short stints, the Blazers shot 60 percent from the field and made 40 percent of their three-pointers. Granted, it is a small sample size, but there is hope that Wright could possibly fill in for Batum, or Matthews even, if the Blazers have injury problems or foul trouble.
Plus, Wright’s pretty good in crunch time:
Stotts has a lot of decisions to make regarding the lineup and rotation for next season. As the season goes on, I expect Wright’s minutes to fluctuate as Stotts tries to figure out the rotation, but he could be key if the injuries start to add up for the Blazers. The Blazers were relatively healthy all of last season, so if I were a betting man, I would bet there are probably going to be a few injuries this season. Obviously, I hope not, but it is good that the Blazers have multiple options off the bench to fill areas of need.