The Portland Trail Blazers are on the hunt for forwards come free agency. Could two-way player Jaylen Hoard be worth converting to a full NBA contract?
The Portland Trail Blazers are on the lookout for guys with size to shore up their defense and strengthen their finishing. But, they may already have an option right under their noses.
Two-way player Jaylen Hoard had some nice minutes in both the G-League and his full NBA minutes in 2019/20. Hoard is a 21-year-old small forward who measures six-foot-eight, and has a big seven-foot wingspan. He is also a strong 216 pounds.
Hoard is still raw overall, but his valuable minutes with the NBA team combined with a great year in the G-League, show that he may be ready for the next step as an NBA player.
Though it was only on limited volume, he shot 75 percent at the rim for the Blazers. For the Texas Legends in the G-League, he averaged 16.2 points with 6.8 rebounds and 2 assists. This was achieved in just 27 minutes a night, with excellent efficiency of 52 percent.
Hoard’s strength combined with his nice touch around the rim, would give the Blazers the slasher they so sorely needed last season. Finishing in the bottom six for the last five years when finishing at the rim, their offense has become one dimensional, and mainly away from the basket.
Hoard would potentially be the Blazers best slasher if he was signed; a six-foot-athlete who can finish strongly with both hands either over or through contact.
Defensively, he is a work in progress, but he can competently guard threes and some fours, and has rim protection abilities as a help guy. He did show some ability to make passes on the move in the G-League, and with more development he could be more than a stand still passer.
His shooting would be the main worry if I were to sign him tomorrow. He only shot around 60 percent from the free throw line, and 22 percent from three, in the G-League season. If I was going to sign him to a one-year minimum deal and a full NBA roster spot, I would want to see how his offseason workouts had be going, and if he had improved in that regard.
He shot 72 percent at the college line on a more accurate sample, but he needs to show in a training camp or preseason that his shooting has had significant improvement.
As mentioned above, Hoard is definitely a minimum candidate. He could sign a deal similar to Wenyen Gabriel, and give himself a year to see if he can add value to an NBA roster. At 22, he may be ready to contribute sooner than some of the 19-year-olds in the draft.