The Blazers' Two-Way Player Who Actually Matters This Season

The Portland Trail Blazers have three players on two-way contracts in John Tonje, Chris Youngblood and Jayson Kent.

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Micah Nori answers questions from the press conference. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Portland Trail Blazers utilized their two-way players often last season, and that could continue to be the case in 2026-27.

Both Caleb Love and Sidy Cissoko reached their 50-game marks during the regular season, but only the latter received a new contract to stay with the team. Love remained on his two-way deal and finished out the season in the G League before signing with the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-way deal earlier in the offseason.

The Blazers are bringing back Jayson Kent and Chris Youngblood, both of whom finished last season with Love on the two-way line, but they added John Tonje, the No. 53 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft that spent time with the Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics last season. Out of the three players, Tonje is the one I am keeping an eye on going into the 2026-27 campaign.

John Tonje Could Carve Out Role with Blazers

Boston Celtics guard John Tonje controls the ball as time runs down in the second half. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“I’m pretty confident. Maybe even delusional,” Tonje said via Celtics insider Bobby Krivitsky during the Las Vegas Summer League. “I think I’m an NBA player, and that’s what I’m striving to get to and be at. So I like where I’m at right now, and just gonna keep working.”

Tonje is older than most second-year prospects at 25, but his experience playing six years of college basketball could come in handy throughout his collegiate career. He made 38.8 percent of his 3-point shots and averaged 19.6 points per game in his final year at Wisconsin. He averaged 14.8 points and made over 45 percent of his shots from beyond the arc during Summer League.

Given the fact that the Blazers lost Shaden Sharp to a torn right meniscus that will keep him out for most of the season, Portland needs another shooting guard to take his place. The Blazers will likely turn to their current guard rotation of Damian Lillard, Scoot Henderson, Jrue Holiday and Ja Morant to all fill in the void. If injuries pile up, Tonje is someone that can step in.

Tonje is the recent signee of the trio of two-way players, which makes him also the most intriguing. He could end up being someone that goes through a revolving door of the team's final two-way player, but if he gets an opportunity to play at any point during the year, he doesn't seem like the kind of guy that would waste it.