The Portland Trail Blazers questionably traded Nicolas Batum to the Charlotte Hornets in 2015 for Gerald Henderson and Noah Vonleh. Since Batum's departure, Portland has struggled to find a viable replacement.
They repeatedly came up short in the postseason with a Damian Lillard-CJ McCollum-led roster, largely to no fault of their own. The Blazers failed to surround their undersized, offensive-minded backcourt stars with the necessary complementary pieces.
Blazers have had a Nicolas Batum-sized void
That roster flaw got exposed in the more physical and competitive postseason. Despite their regular-season success, Portland only made it as far as getting swept by the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals in 2019.
General manager Joe Cronin has learned from Neil Olshey what not to do and is constructing a roster better equipped for eventual postseason success.
Lillard surprisingly returns to Portland after two seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks. He's rejoining an entirely different Blazers roster, which played a key role in his decision to come back. This team is built on length, athleticism, and defense, primarily due to additions of core frontcourt pieces Donovan Clingan, Deni Avdija, and Toumani Camara.
Credit Cronin for identifying both Avdija and Camara as the versatile wings they have been missing, and acquiring them via trade. But there's another one on Portland's roster who is flying under the radar, and that's Rayan Rupert.
Rayan Rupert is who Portland has been missing
There are striking similarities between Batum and Rupert, well beyond the obvious French connection. Both were draft-day gems, Batum as the No. 25 overall selection in 2008 and Rupert going No. 43 in 2023.
Rupert still has a long way to go before reaching Batum's career level, but it's not like Batum immediately took the league by storm, either. In Batum's rookie year with the Blazers, he averaged 5.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.9 assists, which isn't too far off from Rupert's numbers.
Rupert is 6-foot-6 with an elite 7-foot-3 wingspan. That combination of length and agility allows him to guard multiple positions, oftentimes even picking up the lead ball-handler from full-court. Offensively, he's a point forward hybrid who can provide much-needed playmaking for a Blazers team that will miss Anfernee Simons.
It was a limited sample size, but the Summer League showed that Rupert's career is on an upward trajectory at 21 years old. He averaged 16.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in four games. Most encouragingly, Rupert shot 64.3% from beyond the arc during that stretch. If he can improve the 32.1% he's shot from deep in his first two seasons, the Blazers may have the next version of Batum on their hands.
It may seem far-fetched to some who haven't watched the Blazers closely, but Rupert has a similar Swiss Army Knife skillset that few wings can replicate.