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Portland Trail Blazers: How many of the end-of-bench prospects are returning next year?

By Marlow Ferguson Jr.

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 12: Moses Brown #4 of the Portland Trail Blazers drives to the basket in the first half against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on November 12, 2019 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 12: Moses Brown #4 of the Portland Trail Blazers drives to the basket in the first half against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on November 12, 2019 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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Portland Trail Blazers, Moses Brown
Moses Brown, Portland Trail Blazers (Photo by Lizzy Barrett/Getty Images) /

player. Scouting Report. #4. 34. Pick Analysis. C. Moses Brown. 2

There were commercial breaks longer than some of the stints we got to see from Moses Brown’s rookie season, but in the brief segues we did see, there was a lot to like. Only three active players in the NBA are taller than Portland’s 7-foot-2 behemoth, which probably explains why his movements don’t feel incredibly fluid just yet.

Brown took just ten field goal attempts in 2019-20, but his left hook shot looks polished, as does his ability to run the floor. Pair his height with his 7-foot-4 wingspan and 9-foot-2 standing reach, and one has to think there’s some defensive lynchpin ability in his near future.

The thing that excites most of all is what he’s capable of becoming under Hassan Whiteside and Jusuf Nurkić, two of the game’s most skilled non-modern bigs.

They could be the driving force behind his improvement; at UCLA, he made just 23-of-64 shots out of the post in 2018-19. If he plans to increase his playing odds, my hunch is that this number has to improve substantially in the NBA.

As we’ve mentioned, though, Brown does have things you can’t teach. And defensively, he’s already begun to evoke some level of fear into opponents. In 19 possessions, defenses haven’t even thought about posting him up, instead electing to test his closeout skills and pick-and-roll IQ. And on the season, they yield just 0.89 points per possession when attacking him.

What happens this offseason with Hassan Whiteside is what makes this dynamic such an interesting one. Whiteside is slated to return to a bench role during the NBA bubble run, which probably isn’t as big a deal as we’ve molded to be, since he’s likely to still get heavy minutes. But if Whiteside does leave Portland, there’s a gaping hole at the backup center spot.

Brown will have to bide his time on the bench for now. Moments like this are why the Blazers should invest in a G-League team. But in the meantime, if he returns with polish and learns the nuances of the professional center position behind two of the league’s best, there could be a spot for him on this roster next season.