Kings reporter “After a strong showing in Summer League during the summer of 2018, the Sacramento Kings inked Wenyen Gabriel to a two-year, two-way contract. He didn’t play a minute for the kings last season, instead spending his entire season with the Kings’ G League affiliate in Stockton. While he didn’t have a breakout season with the Stockton Kings, Gabriel hit the weight room hard during the summer and impressed new head coach Luke Walton with his work ethic. During training, Garbiel continued with his strong play and the Kings converted his two-way contract to a regular roster contract. With a bevy of injuries, the Kings reduced their rotation down to a small number of players early in the season. Gabriel has seen limited action, but the coaching staff continued to work on his development off the court. He is a hard worker with an NBA body. He’s long and athletic and he’s worked hard to stretch his shooting range beyond the 3-point line. Wenyen is well liked in the locker room and he has plenty of potential as a combo-forward. He will need time to develop, but there is a chance for him to become an NBA rotational player down the road.” – James Ham
Middle-Class mans 'Thon Maker' perhaps? Intriguing pick-up. Looking forward to watching Gabriel develop, and at the least will be more fun to watch than Tolliver, plus has upside.
Maker is more of a PF/C while Gabriel’s more like a PF/SF. There’s a guy out there I see some similarities to, both physically and style wise, but I almost don’t want to buy into it just because of how unrealistic it sounds...
He's a tremendous prospect from the physical standpoint. And Siakam also only broke out at age 24. Let's see-- if he can play even a little, he should get PT on this depleted roster.
Wenyen fills a position of need: Cheap Stretch 4 Prospect. Whether he plays or not, what's not to like?
https://ripcityproject.com/2020/01/20/portland-trail-blazers-wenyen-gabriel-potential-star/ Coming out of high school Gabriel was an outstanding basketball prospect in his own right. Wenyon was a five-star recruit and was ranked No. 14 by ESPN for the recruiting class of 2016. As a senior in 2015-16, he averaged 22.0 points, 14.0 rebounds, 7.0 blocks, and 6.3 assists per game. Gabriel would continue playing basketball in college at the University of Kentucky. He played two seasons at Kentucky and led the school in blocks his sophomore season. That year, Gabriel declared for the NBA Draft but never heard his name called on draft night. To reconcile his NBA career, he would sign a two-way contract with the Sacramento Kings after the Summer League. Gabriel must have made a strong early impression, because his contract was converted to a standard contract this season, before this trade that has sent him on his way to Portland. Standing at 6-foot-9, Gabriel has utilized his impressive size and skill to dominate the NBA’s lower-division. Through seven games played, he has averaged 19.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game in the G-League. Gabriel has been a great 3-point shooter as well this season. Wenyen is shooting 46 percent from deep on a healthy sample size of 3.7 attempts per game, and hitting 55 percent of all shots from the field.
I like the idea that we're taking swings at young kids with potential, hoping that a new system may bring out the best in them. At the level of a G-Leaguer, sometimes fit can make the difference between staying in the G-League/going to Europe or having a meaningful role as a bench player in the NBA. Nothing wrong with trading for a young guy who is 6'9" with long arms when we need some size on the floor given our injuries. Roll the dice!
I already called him a beggar's Siakam right after the trade on this board. I figured that was where the comment "a middle-class man's Thon Maker" came from.