3 NBA veterans we’d like to see join the Portland Trail Blazers on a 10-day contract

The Portland Trail Blazers will likely hand out more 10-day contracts this season

For a long time, the Portland Trail Blazers were one of the few teams unaffected by the coronavirus in the 2021-2022 NBA season. Unfortunately, the newest variant, omicron, has snaked its way into the Rip City locker room. Many squads have had to resort to using their hardship exceptions and deal out a 10-day contract to veterans and G-Leaguers to fill active roster spots, and the Blazers have joined those ranks.

The Trail Blazers have already signed four 10-days for Reggie Perry, Jarron Cumberland, Cameron McGriff, and Brandon Williams. Portland has opted to go the G-League route, rather than to try to coax some aged-out former NBA pros back into the league like the Brooklyn Nets did with Joe Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers did with Isaiah Thomas.

If the virus makes its way throughout the Trail Blazers like it’s done with those two latter-mentioned squads, General Manager Joe Cronin might have to bring in some more reinforcements soon. Head Coach Chauncey Billups likely won’t be the last Blazer to enter the NBA’s health and safety protocols this season.

3 NBA veterans we’d like to see join the Trail Blazers on a 10-day contract

With that in mind, Cronin might have to eventually turn to some former NBA talents to backload the roster, rather than continuing to parse through the G-League’s best and brightest. Here are some veterans that we’d love to see don the Trail Blazers red and black this season:

1. 10-day Trail Blazer we’d like to see: Jeremy Lin

Okay, so maybe I’m biased here. Watching Linsanity in its peak as a young Asian-American NBA fan was a truly ethereal and cathartic experience. I’d imagine that being able to cover him on the Portland Trail Blazers would surpass that, despite the limitations that advanced age and injuries have given him.

Make no mistake, though, there is an objective case for bringing Jeremy Lin to Rip City.

In his last full season in the NBA, Lin averaged 9.6 points and 3.1 assists while playing 19.4 minutes per game between his stops with the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks. That may have seemed like a decade ago, but it was in 2018-2019 — going through multiple COVID variants will stretch time like you wouldn’t believe.

In 2019-2020, he averaged 22.3 points in 39 games for the Beijing Ducks, according to ProBallers. Following that solid international showing, he returned to the states to suit up for the Santa Cruz Warriors.

Playing in his home state, he put up 19.8 points and 6.4 assists per game in nine showings, while shooting 50.5 percent from the floor and 42.6 from deep.

Lin has plenty left in the tank to give to the NBA. At the very least, he’ll provide a steady hand to run the offense when Damian Lillard is taking a breather.

While he’s probably perfectly happy hooping in the Chinese Basketball Association, he did express the desire to nab a 10-day contract this season — even if it was amidst a possible retirement post.

If he’s willing to return to the NBA, the Trail Blazers should be the team that gives him the opportunity to do so.