Category: Portland Trail Blazers Blog

An MRI completed last night showed no significant damage to the right knee of Trail Blazers forward Larry Nance Jr., the team announced today.

Nance injured the knee in the third quarter of Portland’s game against Miami on Wednesday, January 5. He will be reevaluated in one week.

Through 37 games for the Trail Blazers this season (11 starts), Nance is averaging 6.9 points (51.5% FG, 30.6% 3-PT, 65.3% FT), 5.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.03 steals.

The Portland Trail Blazers have named Rodney Billups as an assistant coach.

Billups, 38, is the younger brother of Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups.

Billups joins the Portland staff from Milwaukee where he served as a scout for the Bucks this season. Prior to that he was the head coach at the University of Denver for five seasons (2016-21). Billups was also a standout collegiate player for Denver (2002-05).

Before joining Denver, Billups served as director of basketball operations for two seasons (2010-12) and as an assistant coach for four seasons (2012-2016) at the University of Colorado under head coach Tad Boyle.

Following his collegiate playing career, Billups played professionally with BK Riga of the Latvian Basketball League and Kouvot of the Finnish Korisliiga before joining the college coaching ranks.

The Portland Trail Blazers have signed forward/center Reggie Perry to a 10-day contract, via the NBA’s Hardship Exception.

Perry, 21, has appeared in 11 games (all starts) for the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League this season, posting averages of 19.7 points (47.8% FG, 37.7% 3-PT, 75.9% FT), 10.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.09 blocks in 32.0 minutes per game. Selected by the LA Clippers with the 57th pick of the 2020 NBA Draft and subsequently traded to Brooklyn, Perry (6-8, 250) averaged 3.0 points (41.0% FG, 19.0% 3-PT, 76.9% FT), 2.8 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 8.1 minutes in 26 appearances for the Nets last season. The Mississippi State product also played in 15 games (14 starts) for the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League in 2020-21, averaging 18.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists.

He will wear No. 18 for the Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers have signed guard Jarron Cumberland, forward Cameron McGriff and guard Brandon Williams to 10-day contracts, via the NBA’s Hardship Exception.

Cumberland, 24, arrives in Portland after averaging 20.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.0 assists and earning MVP honors at the 2021 NBA G League Winter Showcase. In 13 total games (three starts) for the Delaware Blue Coats this season, Cumberland (6-5, 205) has averaged 9.4 points (43.2% FG, 34.1% 3-PT, 85.7% FT), 3.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.08 steals and 21.1 minutes. A four-year player at Cincinnati (2016-20), he went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft before playing eight games for the Rio Grande Vipers and Raptors 905 of the NBA G League in 2020-21. Cumberland will wear No. 34 for the Trail Blazers.

McGriff, 24, joins the Trail Blazers from the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. In 14 games (one start) this season, McGriff (6-7, 220) has averaged 10.2 points (45.5% FG, 36.4% 3-PT, 84.6% FT), 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 22.4 minutes. After a four-year career at Oklahoma State (2016-20), he went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft and played the 2020-21 season for Okapi Aalstar in Belgium. He will wear No. 8 for Portland.

Williams, 22, has appeared in 10 games (six starts) for the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League this season, averaging 17.7 points (36.4% FG, 28.3% 3-PT, 83.3% FT), 4.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.00 steals and 31.1 minutes. The Arizona product earned Pac-12 All-Freshman Honorable Mention honors during the 2018-19 season before redshirting his sophomore campaign and going undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft. Williams (6-2, 190) will wear No. 5 for the Trail Blazers.

Trail Blazers center Cody Zeller is progressing in his return to the court after recent imaging revealed a small fracture of his right patella, the team announced today.

Zeller will continue his recovery protocol and increase his on-court activity. He will be re-evaluated next week.

In 24 games this season, Zeller is averaging 5.1 points (56.6% FG, 76.6% FT), 4.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 13.3 minutes per game.

There is reportedly an interesting possible candidate for the newly vacant Portland Trail Blazers president of basketball operations job. Via the New York Post:

Knicks general manager Scott Perry already has emerged as a candidate to replace fired Trail Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey, according a report by Yahoo Sports.

Olshey was axed Friday after an independent investigation determined he violated the team’s code of conduct. The Blazers announced last month they had hired a private law firm to investigate “concerns around the workplace environment by non-player personnel at the practice facility.”

Perry, who signed a two-year contract extension with the Knicks before this season, was a member of the Pistons’ front office when current Portland coach Chauncey Billups played for Detroit. Chicago Bulls GM Marc Eversley also is expected to be considered for the post, according to the report.