Is it good or bad that Mario Hezonja didn’t sign with Blazers?

Mario Hezonja nearly became the Portland Trail Blazers’ newest signing, but one fixed typo later and he was on the New York Knicks.

The craziness of NBA free agency got to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. After watching his Twitter blow up from announcing that LeBron James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, he made a mistake at the cost of Portland Trail Blazers fans.

Wojnarowski tweeted that the Blazers had signed Mario Hezonja, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2015 draft. As Rip City tore itself apart for 20 seconds, Woj deleted the tweet and announced that Hezonja actually signed with the New York Knicks.

Some Portland fans let out a sigh of relief, while others cursed at Neil Olshey for not finishing the deal.

The Blazers were in the hunt for Hezonja, though. Wojnarowski explained the reasoning for his mistake in a another tweet.

And according to Michael Scotto of the Athletic, several other teams offered Hezonja multi-year deals at a higher price than he ultimately got from New York. The Blazers were likely one of those teams.

Mario Hezonja breakdown

Mario Hezonja was the No. 5 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, matching Neil Olshey’s theme of pursuing underwhelming lottery pick from recent years. Olshey most recently signed Nik Stauskas, a lottery selection from the 2014 draft.

Away from the GM’s other tendencies (cough guards cough), Hezonja is a 6’8″ forward. He backed up Jonathon Simmons as Orlando’s small forward this past season. Due to teammate injuries, Hezonja started 30 of his 75 games played.

Offense

In 2017-2018, Hezonja averaged 9.6 points, 1.4 assists, and 1.2 three-pointers in 22.1 minutes per game. He shot 44.2% from the field, 33.7% from three, and 81.9% from the free throw line.

In the 30 games he started, he averaged 14.0 points, 2.2 assists, 1.8 three-pointers on 46% field goal shooting and 37.1% three-point shooting.

These numbers marked a major improvement over his previous two seasons. With a minimal time increase, Hezonja’s numbers progressed across the board. As a rookie, he recorded 6.1 points, 1.4 assists, and 0.8 three-pointers on 43.3% shooting in 17.9 minutes per game.

He spent a lot of time outside the three-point arc for Orlando. While the offense worked through Elfrid Payton (for half the season), Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic, Hezonja moved well off the ball to get into open areas for uncontested three-pointers.

After punishing these defenders playing help defense on Payton, Gordon or Vucevic, Hezonja would get his opponent to play tighter on the outside. With the inside defense now exposed, Hezonja would often speed past his defender on a cut to the hoop.

These cuts were generally off the ball and resulted in easy layups. Hezonja is also quite an athlete; he threw down the occasional highlight reel dunk on backdoor cuts.

And when he made such a drive with the ball in his hands, the Magic forward displayed his ability to finish through contact.

Defense

Mario Hezonja stands at 6’8″ with a 6’10” wingspan. His size and length allow him to defend any position besides center.

He averaged 1.1 steals per game in 2017-2018 and 0.5 steals in the two seasons before. In the games he started, Hezonja recorded 1.5 steals per.

Last season with Orlando, he had a defensive box plus/minus of plus-0.2, the best of his career. With a team that ranked No. 20 in defense in the NBA, having a positive DBPM is worth noting.

Fit with Blazers

Hezonja’s off ball movement and no-hesitation three-point shooting could benefit the Blazers. Although his three-point percentage is a mediocre 33.7%, he keeps defenders honest on the perimeter.

Also, he punishes them after they decide to stay tighter on the wing by exploding to the hoop, with or without the ball. This offensive creation is much-needed for a Blazers reserve unit that relies heavily on Lillard or McCollum.

But Portland’s primary wings, Al-Farouq Aminu and Maurice Harkless, are already solid defenders. The need for defense is mostly at the guard position to compensate for Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum‘s shortcomings.

Next: Is Nik Stauskas an improvement on Pat Connaughton?

While he isn’t a seamless fit, Hezonja would have been a better addition than either Blazers signing. As we’ve been saying since before the draft, Portland’s biggest need is a 3-and-D wing for cheap.

It’s a positive sign the Neil Olshey tried to sign a well-fitting player, but a shame that he struck out on the one that meshed best with team needs.