Portland Trail Blazers: 3 long-term takeaways from the Blazers’ preseason play
No. 1: Gary Trent Jr.’s new offensive wrinkles are a key positive
The decision to decline the Blazers’ four-year, $53.8 million extension was a roll of the dice. But for Gary Trent Jr., it provides him additional leverage to bet on himself. Given his self-confidence, he views himself as a player of higher worth. In turn, the need to add to his offensive toolbox was of utmost importance this offseason.
If the four-game exhibitions indicate anything, creativity and off-the-dribble offense are the first of those traits to show themselves.
In essence, that’s the difference between being a mere “3-and-D,” and a full-on “two-way juggernaut.” Leapfrogging from one extreme to the other makes Portland all the more dangerous. In the preseason, he put that on display time and time again.
I’ve advocated for it previously, and those who follow Trent Jr.’s offensive progression closely can see it. At this point, he’s a regular on scouting reports. He’s simply not to be left open when beyond the arc.
When beginning from Damian Lillard’s floor-stretching defensive abilities, defenses are already going to be scrambling to close out when he kicks to Trent Jr., and now, his comfort in putting the ball on the floor adds a new dimension. He’s showing behind-the-back dribbling moves and offensive creativity that we didn’t see much of last season.
The potential for it was always there. But at points last year — especially during the five-game loss to the Lakers — he couldn’t, or simply wasn’t comfortable making them pay when he had to catch the ball and think on the fly.
In that tweet, you might’ve noticed the statistic. Of 138 guards playing 20+ minutes per game, 135 of them were driving more.
In contrast, Trent had 22 field goals in the preseason; 13 of them were unassisted.
Compare that to what we saw in preseason play. The Portland Trail Blazers are utilizing Trent Jr. in pick-and-roll situations as a ball handler (primarily with Harry Giles III and Enes Kanter), and it gave him a chance to show off what he could do as a playmaker, too. And that could give Portland more flexibility without a true lead guard among that second unit.
It feels inevitable that a player with Trent Jr.’s work ethic would have added this to his game anyway. But that it has been so noticeable after just a 71-day layoff between this season and last season is remarkable. It certainly proved to be a highlight of the preseason.