Portland Trail Blazers: 4 players to avoid during the 2020-21 free agency frenzy
Kent Bazemore. player. 84. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 3. G / F.
In this very offseason, the Portland Trail Blazers will have some enticing options, should they desire to bring a player back for a reunion tour. From future Hall of Famers like LaMarcus Aldridge to top-shelf role players like Wesley Matthews and Maurice Harkless, the possibility of a run-it-back is real.
One player that might not quite fit that bill all that well? Kent Bazemore.
We know, historically, how much the Blazers’ front office values familiarity and culture fit among its core tenets. If the market begins to dry up for switchable, 3-and-D swingmen, could they view Bazemore as a safety valve, who, at the very least, had a positive rapport with the Blazers’ players during his brief tenure?
It feels unlikely, unless straits become especially dire. But, as evidenced by the Caleb Swanigan situation, even if a player doesn’t quite fulfill his role upon the first try, Portland hasn’t held that against them.
Bazemore likely set himself up to receive a bit more than the minimum-salary, by virtue of his excellent play after he was traded from Portland. As a member of the Sacramento Kings, Bazemore was excellent for his standards.
His effective field goal percentage skyrocketed from 43.3 to 48.6%, and saw higher marks in his on-off numbers (+2.8 on-off in Portland to +4.7 in Sacramento). And, his D-PIPM notched into the 92nd percentile in the NBA.
It would be a crime to say Bazemore’s time in Portland was a complete negative. His work as a help defender and “tagger” always jumped off the page. And in 43 games with the Blazers, he produced 76 stocks — steals and blocks — which ranked 9th among guards league wide.
But he shot just 34.7 percent from the field, and mucked things up so much that teams weren’t scared to leave him alone. Swingmen who can shoot better will be aplenty in this free agent class. There’s no reason to move backwards in this case.