With the NBA G League season tipping off on Wednesday, Feb. 10, Basketball Insiders will take a look at some of the stars that headline the bubble. Several two-way contract players and NBA assignees like Dennis Smith Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr. will play, but there are many that will make their cases to join or rejoin the NBA as teams will finalize rosters in March at the trade deadline.
On top of that, the league will welcome the G League Ignite, a brand new team that will feature some of the top prospects in the 2021 NBA Draft class, such as Jonathan Kuminga and Jalen Green. However, Basketball Insiders will focus on some of the players that might be flying under the radar in their pursuit of an NBA roster spot. Let’s take a look at eight of those players to watch out for during the upcoming season.
The most anticipated G Leaguer in the bubble is none other than Jeremy Lin, one of the league’s fan favorites since the days of Linsanity with the New York Knicks. Lin last played in the NBA during the 2018-19 season, when he was acquired by the Toronto Raptors midseason and went on to win the NBA Championship.
Lin never fully recovered from a devastating injury he suffered after just one game with the Brooklyn Nets in the 2017-18 season, which eventually led to him remaining unsigned through all of last season. However, before his injury, Lin averaged 14.6 points per game in 37 total games with the Nets and was well on his way to establishing himself as one of the best role players in the NBA.
The Golden State Warriors tried to sign Lin to their training camp roster but encountered issues with acquiring his rights. Thankfully for Lin, Santa Cruz was still able to secure his rights via the NBA vet selection rule, extending Linsanity’ a direct chance to rejoin the NBA.
Don’t be surprised if Johnson ends up on the Raptors as the next great player for the team like Chris Boucher, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell as another undrafted or late-round flyer. Johnson, the 50th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers, averaged 20.1 points, 12.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals last year in the G League while shooting 52 percent from the field and 33.9 percent from deep.
As is made clear by his stats, Johnson is a stat-stuffing big that can do just about anything on the court. And like many of the Raptors’ projects before him, Johnson is one of the most aware players in the entire G League. It’s no surprise that many scouts and trainers have likened Johnson to one Draymond Green.
Schofield, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2021 NBA G League draft, figures to play a huge role on a talented Greensboro roster that is stacked with former Power Five talent. Schofield is no stranger to the G League, averaging 16 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 33 appearances last season.
While Schofield didn’t have the best rookie season with the Washington Wizards, there is plenty of untapped potential for the Swarm to take advantage of. Schofield showed retention of his elite three-point shooting ability from Tennessee during his first season in the G League, shooting 36.8 percent on nearly six attempts per game from downtown.
Brissett had a promising rookie season with the Raptors on a two-way contract, including an outing in which he scored 12 points and 6 rebounds. Brissett didn’t shoot well in his first season in the G League but averaged 15.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-7 forward out of Syracuse clearly did enough to impress the Mad Ants, who took him in the second round of the G League draft.
Trier is a highly anticipated addition to the G League bubble, having played very well in the NBA with the Knicks. The point guard played two seasons with New York but was inexplicably pulled from the rotation in his second season, seeing more sporadic playing time. In his first season with the Knicks as an undrafted rookie, Trier averaged 10.9 points per game on 44.8 percent shooting from the floor and 39.4 percent shooting from three in 64 appearances.
The Iowa Wolves took a flier on Trier, selecting him with the fourth overall pick in the G League draft. Trier will join a Wolves team without much NBA experience and should get his chance to prove his worth once again.
Unlike many on this list, there isn’t much intel on Krejci, a prospect from the Czech Republic that played professionally in Spain. However, the Thunder must have liked what it saw on film, selecting Krejci with the 37th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-8 forward has point guard skills and sees the floor well, while shooting at a high rate. Krejci is a G League draft-and-stash prospect that’ll look to make his case for a roster spot on the Thunder in 2021.
Blakeney is an able-bodied scorer that has efficiency issues but was an overall steady player in his time with the Chicago Bulls. Blakeney had a tremendous outing in the G-League from 2017 to 2019, averaging a whopping 31.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists over 34 total games with the Windy City Bulls. Blakeney joins a stacked Charge roster that boasts the likes of Devon Dotson, Marques Bolden and Ty-Shon Alexander.
Wooten quickly became a G League fan-favorite with his defensive chops while on a two-way contract with the Knicks last season. The Houston Rockets were able to scoop Wooten up as an affiliate player and he will look to build on a season that saw him lead the G League in blocked shots with 3.6 per game.
With the G League kicking off soon, expect to see plenty of call-ups and assignments across the NBA in the coming weeks. With extra depth extremely important in a COVID-19 plagued season, many G League players should get opportunities to latch onto NBA rosters. But who will emerge as the darling signee? Only time can tell.
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