NBA Summer League is about to open in Las Vegas, and for the Trail Blazers, the week could come with a simple answer to one of their roster questions. Portland has a player on its summer league team who looks like a natural fit for the club’s final two-way spot: Jalen Bridges.
That’s the kind of opportunity summer league is built for. For a lot of players, Vegas is less about exhibition basketball and more about making a case. Two-way contracts are the prize, and Bridges is the kind of guy who can turn a strong week into a real chance.
Bridges already has a little NBA mileage. He appeared in eight games for the Suns in 2024-25 after signing a two-way deal with them as an undrafted rookie the summer before. In those games, he played 3.8 minutes per night and averaged 1.1 points.
But his G League work is where the appeal really shows up. Over two G League seasons, Bridges put up 14.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 37.9% from three on 7.6 attempts a night. The Baylor product profiles as a real 3&D forward, with a polished skill set and a defined role.
That matters for Portland because the fit is obvious. The Blazers’ small forward group is thin, and the team’s shooting has been described as borderline disastrous. Bridges gives them a trustworthy perimeter option who can defend without giving much back on that end, which opens a path for him to matter beyond just a two-way slot.
He also stands out on a Blazers summer league roster that doesn’t have a ton of obvious NBA upside. Outside of the bigger names - Yang Hansen, Chris Youngblood and Jayson Kent - the group is fairly light on players who look like clear long-term league pieces.
Andrew Carr, who spent 2025-26 with the Rip City Remix as a rookie, and Quincy Olivari, who had a cup of coffee with the Lakers in 2024, could still make noise in Vegas. But Bridges is the one who feels different.
If he performs the way Portland hopes, the Blazers may not need to keep searching for their summer league find. They’ll already have him.
In Other News...
Pacers Just Lost Another Frontcourt Piece Fans Were Watching
After reshaping the frontcourt in recent trades, Portland added another body to the mix by claiming Micah Potter off waivers from Indiana and putting him on the active roster. The 28-year-old power forward gives the Trail Blazers a little more size and flexibility as they continue sorting out the rotation behind the main pieces up front.
Potter spent last season with the Pacers, appearing in 47 games and showing enough to stay on a teams radar, even if Indiana ultimately needed the roster spot for a different frontcourt move. For Portland, the appeal is straightforward: a low-risk addition with another year left on his contract who can help fill minutes while the Blazers keep building out the depth chart. [Read more 🡒]
How The Blazers Found A Prospect The Rest Of The NBA Missed
Jayson Kents path to Portland was anything but direct. The forward went undrafted, had no summer league invitation waiting for him and was not even on the radar of most NBA teams after his college career took a hit at Texas, where a wrist injury and limited playing time followed a strong second season at Indiana State. For a player whose stock had once looked far more promising, the climb back started the hard way, with a tryout for the Trail Blazers G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix, and then a standard G League deal that kept him in the organization.
Portlands interest sharpened after a July 2025 Pro Day, when Kent got a chance to put himself in front of the Blazers and earn a look they had not given him before. The appeal was not hard to understand once they saw him in a different role, with more responsibility on the wing and with the ball in his hands, a usage that seemed to reveal more shooting and perimeter skill than the rest of the league had fully accounted for. From there, the door opened to a preseason mini-camp invite and, eventually, a spot on the NBA roster. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Summer League Could Answer One Frustrating Question Early
Portlands Summer League slate is about more than getting a first look at the new group against the Suns. It is also an early test for a roster that still has a few obvious questions hanging over it, especially around development and whether the team can uncover more reliable shooting. Yang Hansen is one of the more closely watched names after his rookie year, and the Blazers will be looking for signs that his game is moving in the right direction rather than stalling out.
The two-way situation adds another layer, with Chris Youngblood and Jayson Kent both getting a real chance to show they can be more than camp bodies. Portland has also lined up a cluster of other Summer League players who could push for attention, including Jalen Bridges, Quincy Olivari, Andrew Carr, DJ Steward and Flynn Cameron, and the shooting need makes that group worth tracking closely. For a team still sorting out its edges, this month could offer an early answer to one of the more frustrating questions on the docket. [Read more 🡒]