Trail Blazers Agree to One-Year Deal With Veteran Guard Devonte' Graham
Graham will come to training camp and compete for a roster spot in Portland.
The Trail Blazers have agreed to a one-year deal with veteran guard Devonte’ Graham, a league source confirmed. ESPN first reported the news. Graham will come to training camp with the Blazers this fall and compete for a roster spot.
Barring a trade before the start of the season, the Blazers currently have all 15 roster spots filled, with their only flexibility being Dalano Banton, whose $2.2 million salary is only $217,533 guaranteed if he’s waived before opening night.
The 29-year-old Graham was a second-round pick of the Hornets in the 2018 draft after playing four years of college basketball at Kansas. After not playing much as a rookie, he broke out in his second season in Charlotte (which was shut down when the pandemic started), averaging 18.2 points per game and shooting 37.5 percent from three-point range on 9.3 attempts per game.
That year, he finished fifth in voting for Most Improved Player as a second-year player. The following summer, he signed a four-year, $47 million contract with New Orleans. He was later traded to San Antonio at the 2023 deadline, then traded back to Charlotte this summer and waived.
Now, Graham will attempt to make the Blazers out of training camp. Portland currently has a lot of depth in the backcourt, with Anfernee Simons and Scoot Henderson expected to get the majority of playing time and Banton still in the mix for backup minutes after a strong stint post-trade deadline last season. Because of the Blazers’ long-term investment in Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, Simons’ name has come up in trade talks during the offseason.
As of now, it doesn’t appear the Blazers are close to any deal involving Simons or any of their other veterans. If that changes closer to the start of training camp, that could make Graham a more viable option for the last roster spot.
Graham joins Chinese forward Yongxi “Jacky” Cui, who played at Summer League, as the second player the Blazers have agreed to sign for training camp. Waiving Banton is the only way the team, as currently constructed, can open up a roster spot. They also have one of their three open two-way contract spots open (Justin Minaya and Bryce McGowens are currently signed to two-way deals). Because Graham has more than four years of NBA experience, he is not eligible to sign a two-way contract.
Counting two-way players and camp invites, the Blazers currently have 19 players under contract out of the maximum 21 they’re allowed to have at training camp, which begins on Sept. 30. The week of the start of the regular season in late October, they have to cut that down to 15 players on their main roster and three two-way contracts.
Thanks the providing far more clarification than has been found on social media, as usual. Thanks, Sean!
Thanks for including all the relevant details Sean! Makes sense.