Nov 18, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Noah Vonleh (21) drives against Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) in the second half at Toyota Center. The Rockets won in overtime 108-103. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Unproven Players
The Trail Blazers have five players on the roster that are within their first two years in league. Often players like this are thrown in to “sweeten” trades between teams. Cap friendly rookie contracts also make salary exchanges easier in bigger trades. It seems the Trail Blazers would rather grow these players in house, but that doesn’t mean they won’t listen to offers as they come up.
Noah Vonleh has already started 16 games for Portland this year. Despite an unimpressive stat line, it speaks volumes on how far the 20 year old project has come. When he was thrown into the Nic Batum deal many thought it would be years before we saw him in the starting line up. Expect his stat line to grow, and with that so will his trade value.
Other than Vonleh, the rest of the Trail Blazers youth have seen very limited playing time. Pat Connaughton has possibly increased his value by merely committing to the NBA instead of the MLB. It was a concern for some teams leading up to the draft. That concern has decreased by him suiting up for the Trail Blazers this year, and could result in potential trade interest.
Barring another injury, Cliff Alexander will likely remain buried on the bench. In his limited playing time this year he has looked like he is worthy of the investment Neil Olshey has placed in him. Alexander was a coveted undrafted rookie free agent in the post draft signings, so he does have some value. He is exactly the type of project player a team might want to see get thrown into a deal.
Each player has a lot more to show before this could be considered an area of strength for the Blazers war chest. Asset Grade: C
Next: Veteran Role Players