https://www.twincities.com/2019/07/12/gary-trent-jr-watching-learning-from-two-of-nbas-best/ LAS VEGAS — Growing up on the basketball court, the bench was a foreign concept to Gary Trent Jr. But he got to know it well last season, through no real fault of his own. After dominating at every level, the Apple Valley product spent much of his NBA rookie campaign in Portland on the pine. Planted behind all-world guards Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, Trent Jr. appeared in just 15 NBA games last season. Selected early in the second round of the draft, he averaged seven minutes a contest, a number distorted by the final game of the regular season in which Trent Jr. played all 48 minutes. When most rookies don’t garner consistent NBA minutes, they spend ample time in the G-League; Trent Jr. played just six games in the developmental league, going off for 33 points a night. Other than that, playing time was hard to find. “I’m not going to lie at all, it was tough,” Trent said last weekend at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. “This was the first time in my life of not playing at all for a while, but it was great.” It was great? “There’s great people in front of me, but I’m learning from them,” Trent Jr. said. “Watching (Lillard and McCollum) day in and day out on everything they do — how they work, how they stay after, how they stay after, how they eat — I’m watching everything they’re that they’re doing.” And he’s using it to aid in his own growth. Blazers’ summer league coach Jim Moran noted that, with the organization’s wing depth, there aren’t a lot of minutes available to Trent Jr. But Portland wants to see him showcase his ability to consistently guard and make shots. “You have to stay ready, you never know what’s going to happen,” Moran said. “And when your number is called, you have to be prepared for that.” It was called plenty in Portland’s Summer League victory over Houston last Sunday, and Trent Jr. poured in 31 points on 10-for-12 shooting — going 7 for 8 from 3-point range. It was a resounding response to the 20-point drubbing the Blazers took from Detroit a day earlier. Summer League teammate Anfernee Simons said when Trent Jr. sees a couple of his shots go in, it’s over. “I would like to think that,” Trent Jr. said. “Me and him work countless hours in the gym with the coaches working on our jumpers, so when it’s time to showcase it and prove it, that’s what we’re trying to do.” Still, the young wing is the first to admit he’s far from a finished product. He said he’s working on “really everything” in his game this offseason. “I’m nowhere near where I want to be, so I’m going to continue to work on my all-around game — my dribbling, my shooting, my mindset to the game, my playmaking, everything,” he said. Being relegated to the bench so early in an NBA career might frustrate or discourage some young players, particularly those who have been stars at every previous level. Trent Jr. said it has humbled him. “It makes you work even harder, it makes you more hungry,” he said. “So, I’m just going to continue to work.” It would be natural for Trent Jr. to wish he landed with a different team, perhaps a non-contender with a less dynamic backcourt that’d allow him more opportunities to play. But that’s not how Trent Jr. thinks. Heading into Year 2, he’s appreciative of his situation and eager to make the most of it. “It’s crazy. Not a lot of young guys are able to come into the NBA and see a future hall of famer day in and day out,” Trent Jr. said of Lillard. “It’s a blessing in disguise for me.”
Huh? Blessing in disguise? There's no disguise! It's right there in front of him! Trade him now. For anything.