Damian Lillard has of course garnered almost any bit of attention that’s been paid to the Portland Trail Blazers this summer. It will almost assuredly continue that way until he ends up in Miami, competing for championships with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Scoot Henderson, who Portland grabbed with the No. 3 pick in the 2023 draft to “replace” Lillard, has been a focus of the NBA at certain times since June. Second-year guard Shaedon Sharpe is expected to make a leap this year after a promising finish to last season.
Anfernee Simons had a breakout campaign in 2022-23 as he scored more than 20 points per game and took over the offense when Lillard sat. He’ll become the Blazers’ No. 1 option offensively this year whenever Dame departs.
There’s a trio of Portland players who have flown mostly under the radar this offseason, though, who may fill surprisingly significant roles in 2023-24 as the Blazers undergo a youth movement and compete with the future in mind rather than the present.
Underrated Blazer No. 1: Jabari Walker
Walker may be the most surprising inclusion on this list, but he showed his versatile skill set during summer league, and with a lack of frontcourt options available to head coach Chauncey Billups – plus the presumed emphasis on finding young players more minutes – the 21-year-old could find himself playing a legitimate role in the rotation this year.
Walker averaged 12.0 points and 8.2 rebounds in 23.3 minutes per game at the Vegas summer league. He was also incredibly efficient, shooting 56.8 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three on 2.4 attempts.
The 57th pick in the 2022 draft entered the league with the potential to be a scorer and floor spacer, and at 6-foot-8, is able to slot in as a power forward to play as a stretch big.
Walker posted averages of 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds in a little more than 11 minutes a game during his rookie campaign, but he’ll likely see an expanded role this year that could give him a chance to prove the skill set he showed in Vegas can translate to the regular season.
Underrated Blazer No. 2: Kris Murray
Murray’s draft scouting report pointed to a player ready to step into an NBA role right away. The fact that the Blazers were still entertaining the idea of taking a win-now approach around Lillard is part of the reason general manager Joe Cronin went for a projected sure thing rather than a raw player with upside.
Murray is a 23-year-old combo forward who spent three seasons playing in the Big Ten at the University of Iowa. He averaged more than 20 points a game on 57 percent true shooting during his junior year to go along with 7.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks a night.
At 6-foot-8 and 213 pounds with a 7-foot wingspan, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa native has an NBA-ready body to go along with multiple seasons in one of the most difficult and physical conferences in college basketball.
In his 2023 NBA Draft Guide, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer described Murray as a “Low-maintenance scorer who doesn’t need touches to exert great effort…Knockdown spot-up 3-point shooter…Does all the little things well…Kris will be a plug-and-play contributor.”
For a Blazers team that should get its young, inexperienced players major minutes this season, Murray could be end up playing a key role as one of the “old” and “experienced” players from that group.
Underrated Blazer No. 1: Matisse Thybulle
Thybulle arrived in Portland as an underrated trade deadline acquisition in February. He went on to have an underrated few months as a Blazer. Now, he may have a properly rated season as a veteran starter (or at least likely starter).
The former 76er is a four-year NBA veteran, and at just 26 years old has been named All-Defensive Second Team twice and has finished top-20 in the league in steals three times and top-20 in blocks once.
The knock on Thybulle – and why he was available at the trade deadline – has always been a lack of offense. He’s not a playmaker, shot creator, scorer or finisher, and until he arrived in Rip City, he wasn’t a shooter, either.
But the 6-foot-5 wing shot a career-high 38.8 percent from three on a career-high 3.9 attempts per game as a Blazer.
Thybulle’s calling card will always be his defense, but if he can shoot 38 percent from deep on a decent volume and make the most of his catch-and-shoot opportunities, his game will take a jump from elite defender to true three-and-D wing. If that’s the case, he’ll play a major role on a young team in Portland.