The Portland Trail Blazers enter the 2024-25 season healthier and with key offseason additions of two high-impact players, Donovan Clingan and Deni Avdija. As a result, they have tremendous depth and an overall roster that should be improved from the 21-win team last year. However, the Blazers' top priority this season shouldn't be winning as many games as possible. Instead, it should be developing their young talent to position themselves for long-term success.
One player who could get lost in the shuffle as a result of their improved (and deeper) roster is forward Rayan Rupert. It will be harder for Rupert to see the 16.2 minutes he had last season with Avdija -- who saw 30.1 minutes per game last season with the Washington Wizards -- now in the equation. That's not even accounting for a healthy Shaedon Sharpe, who only played 32 games last season.
Rayan Rupert needs to get minutes this season
Rupert was the No. 43 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and was a developmental flier, previously playing for the New Zealand Breakers. He showed promise during his rookie season, averaging 4.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists on 34/36/76 shooting splits.
It's essential that the Blazers continue to prioritize young players with low floors and high ceilings, like Rupert, this upcoming season. GM Joe Cronin said one of the expectations from this season is to come away with more clarity, and they can do so by seeing what they have in these types of players who have a sense of mystery surrounding what exactly they are.
Rupert is a Swiss army knife type of player, similar to Avdija. He possesses a rare and coveted skillset as a point-forward type of player with his ballhandling, playmaking, and positional size. He also uses that 6-foot-6 frame and 7-foot-3 wingspan to his advantage on the defensive end, making him a versatile two-way player.
Besides their lack of shooting, the biggest weakness on the Blazers' roster is their lack of versatility. They have way too many one-dimensional players with redundant skill sets, particularly as scorers. Rupert could significantly improve in that key aspect.
Sure, there's a chance he doesn't pan out. But Rupert is only 20 years old and still has a long way to go before Portland can figure out what exactly he is. It's important that Billups gives him enough minutes for them to find out.