In this edition of diving into the Portland Trail Blazers’ roster, we look at third-year winger, Jake Layman.
We’ve talked about the Portland Trail Blazers leaders in Dame and C.J. We’ve talked about how Zach Collins has the upside to be the teams third star player, we’ve touched on the addition of Rodney Hood and how he could fit in with the team, and we have most recently touched on the Bosnian Beast himself, Jusuf Nurkic. But none has entertained Blazer fans this year like the team’s x-factor Jake Layman has.
The former second-round pick out of Maryland has been part of this Blazer team for three years. In his first two seasons, he didn’t get much playing time, putting up 2.2 points and 0.7 rebounds his rookie year and one point and 0.5 rebounds in his second year.
But with Mo Harkless having the injury bug for a large portion of the year, and some changes to the rotation, Layman has proven himself the team’s secret weapon, or x-factor type player this season, with averages of eight points and 3.2 rebounds per game. He’s shooting .667 from two point land, with most of those conversions coming from jaw dropping alley-oop slams. But he can also stretch the floor and hit the three, as he’s shooting .360 from there as well.
His per 36 minute stats are as followed: 15.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg,1.4 apg, 0.9 spg, and 0.9bpg.
What I love about Layman is how hard he plays. I call him the Energizer Bunny (A nickname I hope will one day soon stick). He just keeps going, and going, and going. He is all over the place on both sides of the floor giving it all he has 100% of the time.
Layman is very athletic, more athletic than he looks. He uses this athleticism, and 6-foot-9, 215 pound frame, to disrupt passing lanes, heavily contest shots, and rise up and finish inside among the NBA’s best.
Layman’s true niche in the NBA is at the small forward position, but I can see him being able to move over to the shooting guard position and using his size to his length against smaller twos. His shooting ability could also allow him to be successful for certain stretches at that position.
Layman may also work as a small-ball power forward. His athleticism and motor allows him to be able to hang in there on the defensive side of the ball, and his shooting ability will stretch the floor very well. He can also blow by slower players and finish at the rack on certain occasions too.
Now is the time for a good ole’ player comparison. Hold your breath…
A young Gordon Hayward. Hayward had a very similar frame during his first few years, that Layman has right now, and the youthful Hayward wasn’t afraid to rise up and dunk on anyone either. Hayward was a late bloomer before popping off and putting it all together posting 5.4 points his rookie year, and 11.8 his sophomore season. I consider Layman a late bloomer as well.
Here’s Hayward’s first three years in the league going by per 36 minute stats:
1st year: 11.5ppg, 4.1rpg, 2.4apg, 0.9spg, 0.6bpg.
2nd year: 14.0ppg, 4.1rpg, 3.7apg, 0.9spg, 0.7bpg.
3rd year: 17.4ppg, 3.8rpg, 3.6apg, 1spg, 0.7bpg.
Layman’s first three years per 36 (he played very little during his first two years, so take those numbers with a grain of salt):
1st year: 11.3ppg, 3.5rpg, 1.6apg, 1.3spg, 0.4bpg.
2nd year: 7.7ppg, 3.6rpg, 2.5apg, 1.4spg, 0.9bpg.
3rd year: 15.5ppg, 6.2rpg, 1.4apg, 0.9spg, 0.9bpg.
Those third years are strikingly similar. Another similar thing is their three point shooting, as Hayward’s career percentage of .364 is nearly identical to Layman’s for this season.
Now, I’m not saying Layman will ever get to the level Gordon Hayward reached, but it has more to do with the fact that he is already on a well-built winning team, when Hayward was building with the Utah Jazz team.
Who knows, with Layman’s aggressive mindset and some more minutes granted to him he could very well reach that level.
From a spark plug off the bench, to the potential of Gordon Hayward (could you imagine if Layman hit his prime Gordon Hayward potential along with Zach Collins hitting his Kevin Love potential?), Jake Layman could be a very good piece for the Trail Blazers for years to come!