While the Portland Trail Blazers are the only team in the NBA that doesn’t currently have a single affiliation agreement with a G-League team (though they were actually the first team to have such an arrangement) they do opt to send their younger players down to the development ranks on occasion, especially during times of the season in which practice time is limited.
So before heading out on a three-games-in-four-nights road trip, over the course of which the Blazers will hold two shootaround but no actual practices, the Trail Blazers sent rookies Anfernee Simons and Gary Trent Jr. down to the G-League to get some game action. Here’s how they’ve fared so far.
After recalling both Caleb Swanigan and Wade Baldwin IV last week, Portland sent Gary Trent Jr., the 37th overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft, to the Texas Legends for a three-game homestand in Frisco, Texas. In his first appearance, the 6-6 rookie out of Duke came off the bench to score 24 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the field and 4-of-9 shooting from three while also tallying four rebounds, two assists and two steals in 29 minutes in the Legends’ 119-118 victory versus the Iowa Wolves on Monday, January 21.
Trent and the Legends will be back in action with an in-state grudge match between versus the Austin Spurs Wednesday night at Comcercia Center in Frisco, TX, which will stream live on ESPN+. Trent will likely stick around for the next game versus the Northern Arizona Suns on Friday, January 25 before rejoining the Trail Blazers this weekend. That game can be seen on Facebook Live.
While the Blazers have typically sent players to the Texas Legends, they also have the option of assigning players to any G-League team with open roster spots, which is how Anfernee Simons, selected by Portland out of IMG Academy with the 24th overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft, ended up making his G-League debut Tuesday night with the Agua Caliente Clippers based out of Ontario, CA.
The 6-3 guard came off the bench in the Clippers’ 125-115 victory versus the South Bay Lakers at Citizens Business Bank Arena, finishing with 22 points on 9-of-21 shooting from the field and 4-of-9 shooting from three, two rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes.
Simons is expected to play in Agua Cliente’s next game versus the Salt Lake City Stars Thursday night at Citizens Business Bank Arena, which will stream live on ESPN+. He could potentially stick around for the January 27 tilt versus the Long Island Nets, which will stream on Facebook Live, before heading back to Portland.