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Fansided

Five players the Trail Blazers should target on 10-day contracts

By Stevie Cozens

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - APRIL 22: Jeff Green #32 and JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers jump for the rebound against the Indiana Pacers in Game Four of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 22, 2018 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. 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 Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - APRIL 22: Jeff Green #32 and JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers jump for the rebound against the Indiana Pacers in Game Four of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 22, 2018 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. 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 Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)
(Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) /

Kenneth Faried

The Blazers may want to go a different direction when looking at bigs, and try and get someone who is athletic and plays with a lot of energy. A prime lob threat in any line-up, Faried is only thirty years old and still has a lot left in the tank.

He last played in the NBA for the Rockets last season and appeared in over 30 games between the regular season and playoffs. Faried isn’t a great defender but he is a strong rebounder who could play some center in small ball lineups.

He doesn’t stretch the floor at all but as an energy big this doesn’t matter too much. If signed he would only be asked to play a 14 – 20 minute a night role. The current bigs on the roster in Hassan Whiteside, Labissiere and Carmelo Anthony aren’t the type of energy big men who will run the floor constantly or be alley-oop threats.

Again, if things turn really ugly and this team falls out of the playoff race, then players like Faried can provide production and bench minutes to ease the load on some of the more valuable members of the squad. Though Faried has played most of his career at the four, it’s likely he would be signed as more of a center option. His lack of a jump shot means the power forward position may have passed him by in the NBA.

Faried is a stopgap option on a team that is screaming out for height. They still have a month till Nurkic returns and Whiteside is the only player above six-foot-eight on the roster. Even if he was only on the team for 20 days he could provide the rebounding and energy that has been lacking all season.