Reason #3 – he has an underrated offensive game
A point that hasn’t really been touched on with the signing of Zeller, is his offensive game. He may not be able to shoot threes, but Zeller has a nice range of skills on that end that will suit the Blazers second unit, or its starters if he has to fill in for Jusuf Nurkic.
Zeller is one of the better passers at the center position. In his eight seasons in the league, he has finished in the top 30 percent of big men when it came to assist percentage and only once finished in the bottom third of the league.
When you compare this to Kanter, the Turkish big man only finished in the top 30 percent once, and had a far higher turnover rate when doing so.
Zeller’s ability to pass from the big man spot will be an asset to a team that has a slasher like Nassir Little, and a shooter like Anfernee Simons in the second unit. The ability to pass out of the low block is always important on a team that has its guys like Lillard and McCollum being trapped at the top of the key.
Zeller is also great at drawing fouls. Most fans probably don’t realize that he has finished in the top quarter of the league when drawing fouls, every single of his eight seasons in the league.
He converts these at around 72 percent as well, a pretty good rate for a big.
Zeller was never going to be a star acquisition, but his skill on offense combined with good experience makes him an ideal backup to Jusuf Nurkic. Though he has had injury issues the last few years, this has been as a starter. By moving him to the bench, he can back to his best in a more limited minute role.
Zeller’s signing was a great start to the Blazers 2021 Free Agency period.