NBA Summer League tips off tomorrow in Las Vegas, with the Trail Blazers scheduled to play their first game of the tournament on Friday.
This is an exciting time for basketball sickos. It’s also an important time for countless players looking to prove themselves at the NBA level. For its participants, summer league is an audition to teams across the league, with two-way contracts being dangled as prizes for the biggest standouts.
Portland has one player on their roster for the week that feels like a clear candidate for their final two-way spot: Jalen Bridges.
If he plays up to expectations, the Blazers won’t have to look any further to find their very own summer league gem.
Jalen Bridges would be a strong fit for the Blazers
Bridges has some pro experience under his belt already. He logged eight games for the Suns in 2024-25 after signing a two-way with them as an undrafted rookie the previous summer. In those appearances, he notched 3.8 minutes and averaged 1.1 points per game.
It’s Bridges’ G League profile, not his NBA one, though, that shows his value.
Across two G League campaigns, Bridges has averaged 14.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.3 steals while shooting 37.9% from three on 7.6 attempts per game. The Baylor product is a legitimate 3&D forward. His skillset is polished, and his role is established. The job he’s most qualified for also happens to be one the Blazers are hiring for.
Portland’s small forward room is relatively thin right now, and their shooting arsenal is borderline disastrous. There would be a real avenue for Bridges to ascend in the rotation as a two-way guy and play some meaningful regular season rotation minutes because he’s a trusty shooter who wouldn’t hurt the club on defense, either.Â
Bridges shines above the rest on Portland’s summer league roster
Compared to most teams, the Blazers have a somewhat unexciting Vegas squad. At least, outside of the big league guys, Yang Hansen, Chris Youngblood, and Jayson Kent, that is.
Andrew Carr, who played for the Rip City Remix in 2025-26 as a rookie, and Quincy Olivari, who had a cup of coffee with the Lakers in 2024, could end up turning some heads, but most of the guys don’t have tangible NBA player potential.
Jalen Bridges does, though. If he shows up and shows out in Sin City, Portland will need to act fast to call him up, or someone else surely will.
Add us as a preferred source on Google