Trail Blazers News: Young Guard's Recent Play Should Give Eliminated Portland Hope

The 21-57 Portland Trail Blazers' tanktastic 2023-24 season may be all but (mercifully) over, but one expert believes that the team should be excited about the development of one young talent.

The Ringer's Zach Kram believes that the ascent of Dalano Banton since March 1st should give general manager Joe Cronin hope for the intriguing point guard's future ability.

"Dating back to the start of his career in Toronto, I have always believed in Dalano Banton’s potential, largely because any 6-foot-9 guard who can play gives his team so much positional flexibility," Kram writes. "Unfortunately, Banton never quite found his footing or convinced a coach he deserved more playing time—until the Celtics shipped him to Portland at the trade deadline, and Banton began to flourish in obscurity."

Banton, a Toronto native, was initially selected by his hometown Raptors with the No. 46 overall pick out of Nebraska in the 2021 NBA draft. He toggled between Toronto and its NBAGL affiliate club, the Raptors 905, during his two years there. He inked a two-year deal with the Boston Celtics last summer, but was flipped to Portland at the trade deadline for a protected second rounder.

"Over his last 19 games, dating back to March 1, Banton is averaging 18 points, five rebounds, four assists, and 1.8 stocks [combined steals and blocks] per game," Kram adds. "He’s still nowhere near the top of Portland’s future depth chart, with so many young, highly touted guards on the roster. (Isn’t it ironic that the Trail Blazers broke up the Damian Lillard–CJ McCollum core, only to stumble into another roster led by small guards?) But Banton is a real NBA player, and he finally might have found a place where he can convert that potential into actual production."

Across 27 contests for Portland thus far (including seven starts), Banton is averaging 16.4 points on .425/.353/.759 shooting splits, 4.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks a night.