It was somewhat surprising that Jaylen Hoard’s name was not called out during the 2019 NBA draft, and following its conclusion, the Blazers clearly felt the same way, and signed the former Wake Forest forward to a two-way contract.
Hoard has had a busy year, as Portland’s injuries have forced him to see the court more than he probably expected. Due to the Blazers still not having an official G-League affiliate, Hoard has spent the majority of his season with the Texas Legends, along with fellow two-way player Moses Brown.
The small forward has certainly made his mark in Texas. Hoard has played 20 games for the Legends, and is averaging a neat 17.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists, despite starting just 4 games. He has scored 30+ on three separate occasions, including this effort vs the Iowa Wolves.
When called up to the Blazers, Hoard has shown exciting flashes too. Most of his minutes have come in garbage time, but a fun stretch vs the Timberwolves and the Bucks showed that he may be capable of becoming a solid NBA player. Hoard had 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals vs the Wolves, and backed it up two days later with 6 points, 5 rebounds and another steal against the Bucks (in around 16 minutes in both games).
These are garbage time minutes sure, but Hoard hasn’t looked too uncomfortable on an NBA court; we have to keep in mind how difficult it is to be flown in for random games, and playing in an offense you have limited experience with, especially for a first-year player.
Hoard’s one concern however, is his three-point shooting. In his time in the G-League, he’s shot just 20 percent from deep, a worrying statistic for any wing in today’s NBA. The Blazers in particular, are a team that is hunting wings who can shoot the three, and Hoard’s struggles won’t do him any favors in his hopes of earning an official contract with the team.
My opinion on Hoard is that, despite his shooting struggles, he seems like to much of a talent to simply let go. I’d give him another run in the summer league, and look to keep him on a two-way contract, and hope he can develop in a similar way to Gary Trent Jr.