The Portland Trail Blazers are finding talent where other teams can't. Whether other teams aren't looking or don't know what they're looking at, I'm not sure, but Blazers GM Joe Cronin and assistant GM Mike Schmitz, along with the Blazers' scouting department, just keep proving that Portland has become a potential hotspot for developing talent that other teams couldn't — or didn't want to.
Deni Avdija, of course, is the prime example. He was a good player in Washington and almost instantly became a star in PDX. It was never a shock that Avdija became a good NBA player; but this is almost unprecedented.
It's not just Avdija, though, as this roster is littered with players who flamed out elsewhere or could never find a team to stick with in the first place. That's often the sign of a well-run franchise; the Spurs became known for it during the 2000s and 2010s, and the Thunder have a reputation of finding talent in unexpected places over the past few years. If the Blazers can become that type of team, it opens up so many doors to success.
Blazers are finding talent in the scrap heap
Caleb Love was highly erratic in college; it's still pretty wild that he went undrafted. The Blazers clearly saw something in his game (which, in hindsight, shouldn't have been that hard to see) and now he's developing at a pretty impressive pace in his rookie season. Even if he never becomes a star, he's going to sign a standard NBA deal before this season ends and that's already a big win for an UDFA.
Sidy Cissoko spent about a year-and-a-half with the San Antonio Spurs, a franchise renowned for its ability to develop players. But he flamed out there, and the Blazers picked him up essentially to be an extra body in training camp; now he's started about half the Blazers' games this year, bringing energy and defensive hustle every night along with a developing (hopefully) 3-point shot.
Even Toumani Camara, who signed a lucrative deal in the offseason, started as an afterthought in the Damian Lillard trade.
Yang Hansen was this team's heat check for this scouting staff. Drafting him in the first round is like playing the game of player development on expert mode. There is reason to believe this team knows what its doing in that regard, though, and that's an encouraging feeling for Blazers fans. It makes every 10-day, two-way, or non-guaranteed contract feel more important, because we've now watched many guys who were signed as "why nots" turn into real NBA players.