Former Portland Trail Blazers guard Bryce McGowens is thriving in his new home with the New Orleans Pelicans. He's surprisingly become a key contributor, having a career year with 7.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists on 49/49/77 shooting splits.
McGowens is averaging 18.4 minutes per game and has even started in eight! That's a drastic increase in opportunity compared to what he had in Portland just last season. He was a non-factor in Rip City, having the worst season of his young career with 1.0 points in 2.5 minutes, playing only 13 games.
McGowens was on a two-way contract with the Blazers, bouncing between the NBA and Portland's G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix. He dominated in 16 games with the Remix, averaging 29.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 steals on 48/33/81 shooting splits.
Bryce McGowens is thriving with the Pelicans
The Blazers may have made a mistake by not giving McGowens more opportunities to fully showcase his talents at the NBA level. As a 6-foot-6 guard, he has the positional size that their front office tends to covet.
His shot-making and floor spacing ability would be particularly beneficial for Portland right about now, considering their list of injuries. They've had to rely on two-way players such as Caleb Love and Sidy Cissoko. The former has been wildly inconsistent and far less efficient, shooting 36.8% from the field and 30.4% from beyond the arc.
Between McGowens and Jabari Walker, other teams have benefited from the Blazers' failure to retain underrated role players. Both are on two-way contracts, with Walker landing with the Philadelphia 76ers after Portland let him walk in free agency.
Lack of depth has been a fatal flaw for Portland this season. Not only have they been derailed by countless, seemingly never-ending injuries, but they also have a few projects -- Rayan Rupert and Yang Hansen -- on the end of their bench that aren't ready for immediate minutes. Having someone like McGowens would've quietly given them a huge boost this season, especially considering how much they've struggled to generate offense outside of Deni Avdija.
Still, this situation has worked out in McGowens' best interest. He's finally getting that increased opportunity on a Pelicans team that is dealing with significant injuries of their own, and he's making the most of it. At just 23 years old, he's making a strong case to stick around in the NBA and potentially even make a 15-man roster.