The Portland Trail Blazers have assigned wing Rayan Rupert to their G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix. Rupert will now be available to play for tonight's matchup (Dec. 9) against the Salt Lake Stars. Blazers beat reporter Casey Holdahl adds that Yang Hansen likely would've joined Rupert in the G League assignment, but Portland's rookie is dealing with an illness that sidelined him at practice.
This is excellent timing for Rupert to gain more experience in the G League. The Blazers -- eliminated from the NBA Cup in their Nov. 26 home loss to the San Antonio Spurs -- now have a mini-break with their next game not coming until Thursday, Dec. 11, versus the struggling New Orleans Pelicans.
But even if the Blazers were playing more recently, this would have little to no effect on their roster. Rupert has yet to earn the trust of interim head coach Tiago Splitter and is in the midst of a career-low season, averaging just 1.4 points and 1.5 rebounds on 30/25/50 shooting splits in 7.6 minutes per game.
Rayan Rupert needs to show more to stick around in Portland
Now entering Year 3, Blazers fans were hoping to see more promising signs of development from Rupert. The Frenchman was the No. 43 overall selection in the 2023 NBA Draft, but was widely viewed as a prospect-type player.
The ceiling is admittedly tantalizing for a 6-foot-7 wing with upside in his defensive versatility and a point-forward-like skill set on the offensive end. Unfortunately, that just hasn't come to fruition, and while keeping Rupert around seems like a low-risk move given the hit rate of second-round picks, it's quietly having a significant negative impact for Portland this season.
They've been derailed by injuries early on, with Jrue Holiday, Blake Wesley, Scoot Henderson, and Matisse Thybulle still sidelined. That's been the most significant contributing factor to their relatively underwhelming 9-15 record after a hot start to the season. Portland has absolutely no depth with Damian Lillard out for the entire season and projects such as Hansen and Rupert on the roster.
Splitter has even relied on two-way players Caleb Love and Sidy Cissoko ahead of Rupert on the depth chart, showing how far he still has to go to crack the rotation.
It remains to be seen what the Blazers' long-term plans are with Rupert, but they should consider keeping him in the G League at this point. He already had a golden opportunity to earn an increased role due to the Blazers' early-season injuries, but unfortunately, he was never able to capitalize on it.
Hopefully, he shows signs of progress with the Remix. If not, it could force Portland's hand this offseason with his contract set to expire.