3 rookies the Portland Trail Blazers may regret not taking

2. Alperen Sengun

It’s always a little bit of a risk to take an international prospect and that uncertainly caused Alperen Sengun to remain available to the Houston Rockets at 16. Despite the cautiousness surrounding his slender build and lack of high-level competition, the skills he displayed were enough for the Rockets to take a chance and trade for him.

The Portland Trail Blazers may regret not beating them to the punch. Sengun is a tantalizing prospect at 6’10 with guard skills. He’s also currently the second leading shot blocker in all of Summer League at three rejections per game. Add those onto his current averages of 14.5 points and 10.8 rebounds while shooting 38 percent from deep and you have the makings for a special player.

His blend of size and athleticism is extremely rare and he might be the next in a short line of European “unicorn” big men.

The Blazers came into the offseason short on size and are still well short. There was a lack of affordable big men on the free agency market this year and Portland did their best to fill in the gaps by signing Cody Zeller. Still, it would have been nice to add a player with Sengun’s blend of size and skills.

The Trail Blazers in the Lillard-era have never had a center that could both space the floor and protect the rim like the Turkish rookie can.

It may take a full season before Sengun becomes a reliable contributor, but his ceiling would have been well worth the risk for the Blazers.