Last week, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported on The Stein Line that the Portland Trail Blazers were looking to bring in players on non-guaranteed deals to compete with Micah Potter for the final spots on the roster.
Later, they signed recent NBA champion Jeremy Sochan to a one-year deal that, predictably, is non-guaranteed.
Portland technically has all of its roster spots filled if they wanted to head into the season with Potter and Sochan to round out their 15-man roster. They even have their two-way spots filled after bringing in former Boston Celtics guard John Tonje.
However, Fischer's rumor suggested that several players would be brought in for competition, meaning that Sochan could be just the first of many other non-guaranteed signings.
Blazers to bring in more players on non-guaranteed contracts to compete with Micah Potter
Who those exact players are remains to be seen. Portland is clearly set at the point guard and center positions due to its positional logjams. One would assume they'd continue bringing in wings/forwards to provide competition for Potter and now Sochan, or even find depth to spell Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara.
Potter and Sochan may be redundant positionally, but they do complement each other well due to their respective offensive- and defensive-minded games. New head coach Micah Nori could benefit from having the flexibility of Potter's shooting and Sochan's defense, two things Portland suddenly needs more of after its unpredictable offseason moves.
If they do elect to keep just one, shooting is far more of a significant need on this roster. Potter's career 38.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc should give him the nod over the offensively limited Sochan.
Still, the Sochan pickup does align with new owner Tom Dundon's approach to buy low on reclamation projects, as was the case with the Ja Morant blockbuster. Sochan was a former top-ten pick out of Baylor and could still reach that potential at just 23 years old.
But as previously mentioned, Portland should also consider bringing in wings as potential replacements for Matisse Thybulle. Their small forward depth is hurting as they are heavily reliant on an undersized Jrue Holiday, a still-developing Sidy Cissoko, and an inconsistent Vit Krejci.
The free agency options aren't great as we're now into August. But Blazers fans shouldn't go in with the assumption that the roster is complete now that there are 15 players between Potter and Sochan.
This is a largely unfinished roster that could still have moving parts depending on who else is signed on non-guaranteed deals for increased competition, and how well they fit Portland's end-of-bench needs at training camp.
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