Reason #3 – He’s only 28, but has playoff experience
The Blazers are at the point with this team where they need to continue signing players who have experience. In Tony Snell and Cody Zeller, they have guys who have been in the league for a while and been part of multiple playoff runs.
McLemore is the same, having been part of the Rockets and then Los Angeles Lakers playoff runs in the last two years. Though these three may not play massive amounts of minutes, the Blazers can’t afford to fill their bench with players who don’t have significant experience.
McLemore, Zeller, and Snell were actually drafted the same year as McCollum, but McLemore is a year younger than McCollum. Though McLemore is currently a veteran’s minimum player, there’s no reason he can’t lengthen his NBA career by being a 20 minute a night knockdown shooter.
Plenty of NBA players add years to their careers by putting up strong showings on playoff teams.
McLemore may be in a stacked guard rotation, but with injuries a theme on this team he could play a bigger role if required.
The Blazers now have 13 players under contract for the 2022 season, all three of these minimum signings have been smart ones.