Last month, the Rip City Remix (Portland Trail Blazers G League affiliate) acquired the returning player rights to Dillon Jones. Given the Blazers' depth crisis following several unfortunate and untimely injuries, they should consider offering Jones a two-way contract.
Currently, the Blazers have all their two-way spots filled between Caleb Love, Sidy Cissoko, and Javonte Cooke. They'd have to clear a spot to add Jones, and Cooke would be the obvious odd man out.
Dillon Jones would give Portland an upgrade over Javonte Cooke
Love has been incredibly streaky and inefficient, but as he showed in an impressive 26-point outing in a road win over the Golden State Warriors, there's value in keeping a wildcard like him on the roster. Portland lacks shot creators with Anfernee Simons and Dalano Banton out of the equation, and it makes sense to keep Love around to help fill that void.
Meanwhile, Cissoko has proven to be a solid fit for the Blazers with his defensive versatility at 6-foot-6. He's already earned the trust of interim head coach Tiago Splitter and even started in three games! At just 21 years old, it's worth continuing to invest in him, especially to see if he can develop a more reliable shot.
It's much more challenging to make the case for keeping Cooke around. He doesn't possess the same level of upside at 26 years old, yet he also isn't making an immediate impact for a shorthanded Blazers team. Cooke has played in three games for the Blazers, averaging 2.3 points in 8.0 minutes while shooting just 30% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc.
At the time, it was somewhat surprising that they went with Cooke for the final two-way spot. Now that Jones is an option, they should strongly consider waiving Cooke to upgrade that final spot.
The Oklahoma City Thunder made a draft trade to land Jones, who was the No. 24 overall selection in 2024. As a rookie, he averaged 2.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in just 10.2 minutes per game. The Thunder traded Jones to the Washington Wizards this offseason, who then proceeded to waive him. Jones went unclaimed and became the No. 1 overall selection in the G League draft.
Swapping Cooke for Jones would be a low-risk move for Portland, potentially upgrading their roster in both the short- and long-term. Investing in a recent first-round pick is rarely a bad idea, especially one that the elite OKC scouting department was high on.
Damian Lillard also has to love the Weber State connection. What more do you need?