The Portland Trail Blazers stepped out of character and acquired two rookies on the night of the 2021 NBA Draft: trading into the second-round to take Greg Brown out of Texas, and signing undrafted LSU Tiger Trendon Watford to a two-way contract.
While neither of these acquisitions will be of much immediate assistance to the team, they were both low-risk moves that could pay off big time in the future. Both Brown and Watford were top-20 recruits in the ESPN Top-100 in their respective classes.
Both players could develop into long-term, solid role players on very minimal contracts. If these players pan out the way the Blazers hope, they’ll be stacking their bench on the cheap.
The Portland Trail Blazers could be adding two high-level role players in Greg Brown and Tendon Watford
These flier-type moves are the exact kind of “gamble” that can take a team burgeoning on the edge of greatness over that hump. General Manager Neil Olshey hasn’t been averse to betting on rookie projects, but with zero capital in this year’s draft, it was encouraging to see him find a way to acquire these low-risk, high-reward players.
While the team shouldn’t rely on Brown or Watford for any contributions in the near future, stashing them on the bench on in the G-League is a great investment for the organization moving forward.
High-level role players have been harder and harder to come by, and their price tags are shooting up. The Portland Trail Blazers need all of the depth they can get and don’t have much in the financial department to fill their needs.
If Brown and Watford develop the way Olshey and the Blazers brass hope, we’ll be lauding these acquisitions for years to come. Here’s what to know and expect of the two incoming rookies: