Rip City Project
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Blazers are Summer League champions. So what’s next on the basketball schedule?

By Matt George Moore

LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 17: Terry Stotts of the Portland Trail Blazers looks on during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League Championship game against the Los Angeles Lakers on July 17, 2018 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 17: Terry Stotts of the Portland Trail Blazers looks on during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League Championship game against the Los Angeles Lakers on July 17, 2018 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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What’s going on out there in Portland Trail Blazers land? A few things, actually. Here’s a quick rundown of how a few Summer Leaguers fared.

Soon, we’ll be entering the NBA dead zone — that span of time between the end of Summer League and the beginning of training camp in September. For NBA aficionados, it can be a long, lonely summer. But we here at the RCP are still hard at work bringing you the Blazers news you crave. That way, the long, lonely summer will seem less long and lonely.

In theory, anyway. Hey, man — the sun’s out. Be happy.

Blazers and the Summer League

The Blazers beat the snot out of the dastardly Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday in Las Vegas. I see that there’s a lot of guffawing and pooh-poohing on the inter-webs about this victory. As if it’s meaningless. As if it doesn’t matter.

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But I’m here to tell you this: It’s not meaningless. It does matter — even if it’s just because it was a win against the Lakers. If you didn’t enjoy watching Portland rampaging through the Vegas hardwoods, then you just don’t like basketball. There, I said it.

Forget for a moment whether or not Summer League success translates to winning basketball during the regular season. Instead, focus on a few superlatives.

Wade Baldwin IV

The clock is ticking on Wade Baldwin IV. That sounds bad, but it’s actually not! Well, maybe not. Anyway, what it means is that when the clock hits midnight Wednesday (that’s today, July 18), his contract will be guaranteed.

And this should make any Rip City fan happy. Baldwin, who averaged 7.4 assists per game in Vegas, is an asset for the Blazers moving forward. He’s a tenacious defender with a wingspan for days, and he’ll bring both grit and a winning disposition-slash-determination to the team.

Tick-tock, tick-tock …

Jake Layman

Who exactly is that guy hitting jumpers, gliding gracefully to the basket and stuffing putbacks over people’s heads? Why, it’s Jake Layman, everybody!

Layman was a beast in Summer League, averaging 13.4 points on 57 percent shooting from the field. Portland fans have been waiting for Layman to display this kind of skill and finesses since he first donned the pinwheel logo. We haven’t seen much of it, and Layman has mostly been cheering from the end of the bench.

Let’s hope some of Jake’s Summer League mojo carries over into the regular season.

Rookies

Although they didn’t dominate, both Blazers rookies, Anfernee Simons and Gary Trent Jr. were impressive in Vegas. They each displayed a surprising amount of patience and maturity on the court. Trent Jr. also showed a fiery and enthusiastic side to his personality that will probably make him a fan favorite.

Simons averaged 11 points per game in Vegas, and had a knack for being around the rim to snare a few rebounds (3.2 per game). He’s still a bit undersized, but that didn’t seem to get in the way of his game.

Trent Jr. averaged a touch more than Simons with 11.4 points per game. But he displayed an ability to find open spots for himself on a crowded court. He moves well without the ball, and as has been noted, seems to already have a NBA-ers mentality.

Biggie

Finally, let’s here it for Caleb Swanigan. Dude was a rebounding beast in Vegas, averaging 10.7 per contest. But he also showed a deft passing touch, dishing out 3.3 assists per game, too.

He was prone to turnovers in a few games, and his footwork still seems a touch slow, but it looks like he may be moving closer to playing a pivotal role for the Blazers as they head into the 2018-2019 season.

In Other News …

Bye-bye to Georgios Papagiannis, who never looked quite right out there on the Summer League hardwood.

We hardly knew ye, Papa G.