Jake Layman’s Summer League might’ve earned him minutes

In his third Summer League appearance, Jake Layman finally showed what he is capable of. Now he has one NBA season to prove why the Blazers should keep him around.

Wade Baldwin IV needed to play well in Summer League to have the Blazers guarantee his contract. Even with an incredible seven games and the championship, Portland still waited until an hour before the July 18 deadline to give Baldwin the final roster spot.

Jake Layman, on the other hand, had his contract guaranteed on July 1. Because the Blazers didn’t do anything on June 30, his contract was automatically guaranteed.

Without his 2018-2019 season on the line, Layman still played his best Summer League basketball. Over the seven games, he averaged 13.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals on 57% shooting.

He tied Baldwin for the team’s scoring lead and shot second-best from the field as well.

Athleticism

Without a G-League assignment or much playing time on the regular season roster, Layman wasn’t able to show off his athleticism last year. The Blazers know about it from his NBA Draft Combine results, though.

At the combine, Layman recorded a maximum vertical leap height of 39.5 inches. Six prospects jumped higher than him and only three of them were forwards.

Layman used this 39.5-inch vertical in the Summer League this year. Baldwin consistently found him on backdoor cuts that led to highlight alley-oops, plus he had an authoritative put back slam in the opening game.

With Pat Connaughton gone, the Blazers need a new high-energy guy to occasionally throw alley-oops to.

Three-point shooting

Per 36 minutes, Jake Layman shoots 23.9% from beyond the arc in his NBA career. Even with a starter’s minutes, he would only make 1.5 three-pointers per game.

In Summer League, Layman connected on 1.9 three-pointers in 23.1 minutes per game. Even better, he made 54.2% of those three-point attempts.

This was the most confident Layman has been with the ball in his hands. A majority of his three-pointers were with a defender close by, but that didn’t affect him whatsoever.

He also used his accurate three-point shooting to create other opportunities for himself. Once defenders pressured him on the perimeter, Layman ran around screens and freed himself for midrange jumpers or drives to the basket.

In his two NBA seasons of minimal time, 52.6% of his shot attempts were three-pointers. In this year’s Summer League, 38.1% were threes.

The Blazers added plenty of outside shooting this summer. It’s important that Layman has the three-point shot in his toolbox, but his shot creation and athleticism might be more important.

He’ll backup Maurice Harkless, Evan Turner and Al-Farouq Aminu, so he needs to mimic their offensive styles of shooting when open, creating midrange looks, and cutting with or without the ball.

Defense

Layman led Portland’s Summer League squad in steals per game with 1.4. Defense isn’t his calling card, but 1.4 steals each contest is definitely a positive to take away.

Up until the final two games, he was averaging 2.0 steals and 0.8 blocks. These defensive numbers, plus the well-rounded offensive showing, contributed to Layman’s overall box plus/minus of +106.

Without Harkless or Aminu on the floor, the Blazers’ bench unit needs forwards who can defend. Turner did well in that role last season, so maybe Layman can sneak into the backup four spot to provide strong defending for an undersized reserve lineup.

Next: Who should the Blazers sign with its two-way contracts?

After two disappointing Summer League outings, Jake Layman finally showcased his abilities on both ends of the ball. He led the team in points and steals per game, plus shot the second-best percentage from the field.

Thanks to all the guard additions this summer, Portland’s frontcourt rotation is thinner than last season. Layman has yet to crack the rotation, but his athleticism, three-point shooting, and defending might earn him time at the backup four with Caleb Swanigan.