On the court, it's been a quiet and rather uneventful summer in Rip City in the month and a half since the Trail Blazers bowed out of the Western Conference Semifinals on May 11, so there was a fair bit of excitement when the Blazers' youngsters reconvened at the team's practice facility for the first day of Summer League camp on Monday morning. For Portland's returnees, the feeling of rejoining a few of their teammates after a few weeks' break was a somewhat like the first day of school, though much more professional in nature.
"Except you don’t have a book bag on your back and you don’t have homework to do," second-year guard Pat Connaughton said of the first day of camp. "I think for a lot of us, that’s a sigh of relief.
"For me personally, I got a great test of it when I did [minor league] baseball before my senior year of college. To come in with that professional mentality and the business-like approach to come in each and every day to make sure when you’re leaving you almost can’t stand up. You need to rest; you need to build back so up so you’re putting your best foot forth."
Connaughton joins third-year forward Noah Vonleh and second-year players Cliff Alexander and Luis Montero as the returning contingent of Blazers from the regular season. Draft pick and University of Maryland product Jake Layman, acquired from the Orlando Magic on draft night, along with several others with D-League and recent college experience fill out the rest of the team's Summer League roster.
"Summer League is the time where it’s not just about showing the things you can do from a personal standpoint, but trying to help the team win," Connaughton explained. "For me that’s something I’ve always prided myself on. To make sure I’m putting myself, but also my teammates, in a position to help us have success in Vegas and make sure that regardless of the outcome, we put our best foot forth."
The Blazers open up play in the Samsung Summer League in Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon versus the Phoenix Suns at COX Pavilion. The team is slated to play the San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz on July 10 and 12, respectively, before taking part in at least two more games in the Summer League's tourmanent.
Noah Leading the Way
Though still just 20 years old, forward Noah Vonleh is entering his third Summer League campaign. As the most seasoned player on the Blazer's summer roster, Vonleh is hoping his past experiences translate into leadership in Las Vegas.
Traded from Charlotte to Portland in June 2015, the former lottery pick has had a full year to get acclimated to Rip City and learn head coach Terry Stotts' playbook after leading the Blazers with averages of 17.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in last year's Summer League.
"This is my third Summer League, so I’m definitely going to go out there and look to be aggressive," Vonleh told media on Wednesday. "I’m definitely going to try to get some of the younger guys on the team involved like Luis [Montero], Pat [Connaughton], Jake [Layman]… I’ve known most of those guys growing up, so it’s good to have guys that I know on the team. It’ll be fun playing with them."
He added: "I’m just focusing on going out there and playing hard, being real talkative on the defensive end -- just being a leader out there."
Vonleh featured in 78 games, 56 of which were starts, during his first season as a Blazer in 2015-16, averaging 3.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in just over 15 minutes per game. Comfortable in his surroundings, Vonleh hopes to use Summer League to continue to develop his game ahead of the his third season as a pro.
"I think I did good job last year," he explained. "I hustled a lot last year. I played defense, did some of the right things on the court, but I’ve gotta be more aggressive and be a threat out there. Make myself a threat out there, knock down the open mid-range shot so guys can defend me and it makes it tougher to cover us."
New England Connection
Summer League breeds some familiarity for three players on the Blazers' roster. Pat Connaughton, Noah Vonleh and rookie Jake Layman each faced each other gowing up on the Massachusetts AAU ranks.
While it's understandable that many Trail Blazers fans probably haven't seen much film on Layman, both Connaughton (Arlington, Mass.) and Vonleh (Haverhill, Mass.) had positive things to say about the Norwood, Mass. native Layman.
"We used to match up in tournaments and stuff all the time," Vonleh recalled his prior encounters with Layman. "He was about the same height he is now in high school. Like sophomore year he was like 6-9, real long. He could shoot the ball well, play defense and he could get to the basket. He’s doing some of the same stuff now. He’s shooting the ball real well in these practices."
After studying game film of the Blazers from last season, Layman is growing familiar with the team's offense already. He said he expects play small forward in Terry Stotts' system.
"I’ve watched some film, it’s kinda the same plays I saw on film," said Layman. "It’s kinda the same plays I saw on film that we’re running for Summer League. I am familiar with it and I think it suits me well coming off a lot of the screens, a lot of flairs."
"I’d been looking forward to getting out here. I got out here two days ago. I was excited to get out here and practice."