Portland Trail Blazers: What should Gary Trent Jr. add to his game next season?

Portland Trail Blazers guard Gary Trent Jr. has the opportunity to become one of the NBA’s great 3-and-D players next season. What should he add to his game in 2021?

Here’s a statistic that you might have missed, in between rapid heart rates from nail-biting games, and Damian Lillard’s ineffable offensive fireworks: in the eight seeding games, the Portland Trail Blazers had an offensive rating of 122.5. Not only was that the No. 1 rank in the NBA, but it would have ranked No. 1 in NBA history by far, if done over a full 82-game slate.

For that reason, it’s a shame fans weren’t there to see it, live and in person. But here’s something you probably didn’t need to be in the arena to see: the chip on the shoulder of Gary Trent Jr.

The writing was on the wall for Trent Jr. to reach cult-hero status under brighter lights, especially considering what he did pre-Bubble. From New Year’s Day on, he produced better clutch statistics than the likes of Anthony Davis, Brandon Ingram, Jaylen Brown, and even Kawhi Leonard. And until the point of that Lakers-Blazers series, he was among the hottest shooters to grace the hardwood.

Postseason basketball, by nature, is always more difficult. Scouting reports become more detailed, defensive rotations and closeouts tighten, and palms get sweaty. But it could give Trent Jr. a glimpse into what the next big step of his offensive progression could be — attacking the rim.

Because Trent Jr.’s playing time was inconsistent at the start of the campaign, we’ll only be considering stats from Jan. 1 to the end of the regular season.

Over that time, the second-year guard attacked the rim just 57 times, per Second Spectrum, shot 42.9 percent on them (15-of-35), and drew six fouls. Those numbers aren’t bad by any stretch, except for when you consider that he played 1,060 minutes over that frame.

To compare league wide: of the 71 players to play at least 1,000 minutes, Trent’s 57 drives ranked 60th in the NBA. Those behind him are mostly centers — think Rudy Gobert, Hassan Whiteside, Jarrett Allen. The furthest they’re likely to “drive” is from the dunker’s spot to the rim.

In the Playoffs, where the Lakers used their length and athleticism to run them off the line, the Portland Trail Blazers would have had ample opportunity to use that quick drive to their advantage. Trent, individually, made just one driving bucket (1-of-8) on 11 drives.

He often opted to stick to his tendencies, through either his step back jumper, settling for midrange shots, or merely hopping back behind the line to try a 3-pointer.

It can’t be overstated that even without becoming a better (or more willing) rim attacker, Trent Jr.’s rise is still undeniable. He’s poised for a Duncan Robinson-type leap next year in terms of shooting, hits 200+ 3-pointers, plays elite perimeter defense, and continues to increase his legend. Robinson had only 34 drives last season, which shows that there’s more than one way to be a great complementary player.

On film, there are just lots of examples where it could serve as a benefit. Here are a few clips that showcase that.

These clips tell the story of a few things: no team in the NBA was more active in hunting out pick-and-roll scores with ball handlers than Portland. They rank No. 1 in points, points per possession, and are in the 100th percentile. If Trent Jr. advances this part of his game, he’s bound to get favorable matchups through switches. In the first two clips, he gets matched up with Dario Saric and Boban Marjanovic, two slow-footed defenders.

He grants them a get-out-of-jail-free card with the long-ball. Look at the paint — it’s as empty as a college student’s pockets. Come next season, perhaps he notices this, and puts that 33.5-inch vertical and shiftiness to better use in Year 3.

And in those other clips, we see that sometimes, he concedes to taking the 3-pointer before he even has the ball, as if his mind is already made up. For a shooter as talented as he was, it’s understandable. But this could be the next dimension to his repertoire.

If there’s one on-court tactic each of the young players can take from Carmelo Anthony, the simple pump-fake into a less contested shot could be the wave to ride. On Let’s Get Technical with Rasheed Wallace and Bonzi Wells, he stated that Anthony was a top-five favorite player for him, so perhaps it’s only a matter of time.

Next season, the Portland Trail Blazers are going to reap immense benefits through Trent Jr.’s progression. He appears as competitive as come. After plays, you can always see him clapping, nodding to himself, as if he doesn’t expect to miss shots. Intangibles and confidence aren’t things that can be taught.

For that reason, he looks primed to become a 15-point scorer, a Sixth Man of the Year candidate (unless, of course … he starts), and one of the better 3-and-D players in the game. His core strengths and traits are well-rounded. With a little fine tuning in a few areas, he can raise the ceiling of his own game … and lower the rim a bit while doing so.