“Blazers sign former lottery pick as preseason continues”

The Portland Trail Blazers may be just a week away from the start of their 2024-25 regular season, but that doesn't mean head coach Joe Cronin isn't still tinkering around the edges of his roster.

Portland announced on Tuesday in an official team press release that the club had signed former lottery player James Bouknight to a training camp agreement (Exhibit 10).

Bouknight, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard/point guard, was selected No. 11 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets after an All-Big East run with the University of Connecticut Huskies.

During his three-year tenure with the Hornets, he alternated between Charlotte and its G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. In 79 total NBA games, Bouknight has averaged 4.8 points on .363/.335/.770 shooting splits, 1.7 rebounds and 0.9 dimes.

In his 31 G League regular-season games with the Greensboro Swam between 2021-23, Bouknight averaged a far more impressive 18.5 points on .453/.418/.784 shooting splits, 5.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1 .0 steals and 0.5 blocks per night.

The Trail Blazers find themselves in a unique roster personnel situation. The team actually has 16 players in its standard 15-man squad. 14 of those players have fully guaranteed contracts. Veteran point guard Devonte' Graham signed a non-guaranteed minimum contract this summer, while returning small forward Dalano Banton signed a partially guaranteed contract. A long-term injury to Shaedon Sharpe has reduced the Trail Blazers' backcourt depth, so it's possible the team will find a way to temporarily carve out a spot for Graham, but Banton was too good to ignore last year, so you ask whether the team's general manager Joe Cronin would like to fire someone else instead.

All three of the Trail Blazers' two-way contracts are currently filled by Justin Minaya, Bryce McGowens and Taze Moore.

But if Bouknight impresses enough, he could see his deal converted to a two-way agreement while Cronin forgoes one of those three players. What is more likely, however, is that Cronin terminates Bouknight before the start of the 2024-25 regular season and Bouknight then signs an affiliate player deal with Rip City Remix. Should Bouknight remain with Portland's NBAGL affiliate team for at least 60 days, he would be eligible for a bonus of up to $77,500, thanks to language in his contract in Exhibit 10.

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