As per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Portland Trail Blazers are signing point guard Devonte’ Graham to a one-year deal. Terms haven’t been disclosed, but it is likely a minimum salary deal or a non-guaranteed pact. The 29-year-old played last season with the San Antonio Spurs. He was involved in a trade this offseason along with a 2025 second round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for cash. Graham was subsequently waived by Charlotte making him a free agent.
Free agent guard Devonte’ Graham has agreed on a one-year deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, sources tell ESPN. Graham played 46 games with the Spurs over the last two seasons. pic.twitter.com/6V4korccnX
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 30, 2024
Trail Blazers Sign Former Most Improved Player Candidate
Graham Received The Least Playing Time Of His Career Last Season
Selected with the 34th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Graham has now played six seasons in the league. He first joined the Spurs in February of 2023, when he was dealt to them by the New Orleans Pelicans. Along with those two teams, the six-foot-one guard also has played for the Hornets where he spent his first three seasons.
Last season, Graham was often outside of head coach Gregg Popovich’s rotation. He received career lows in games played (23) and minutes per game (13.6). During his little time on the court, he posted per-game averages of 5.0 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. He shot 35.2% from the field, 30.1% from three-point territory, and 81.3% from the free throw line.
Graham’s best season was his second one which came in 2019-20 while with the Hornets. He posted career-high averages across the board of 18.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 1.0 steals. That season, he finished fifth in Most Improved Player voting. While he was utilized mostly as a starter in the following two seasons (2020-21 with Charlotte, and 2021-22 with New Orleans), he wasn’t nearly as productive.
In 336 career regular season games (171 starts), Graham has career averages of 11.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. His career shooting splits are .371/.354/.812.
Trail Blazers Have A Young Backcourt, Where Does Devonte’ Graham Fit?
There doesn’t seem to be a clear path to playing time for Graham next season as the Trail Blazers are likely to prioritize their young backcourt. They currently roster 20-year-old Scoot Henderson who was the third pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and 25-year-old Anfernee Simons who averaged 22.6 points per game in his 46 outings last season. Portland also picked up the team option of 24-year-old Dalano Banton.
They did get rid of some of their backcourt logjam by sending Malcolm Brogdon to the Washington Wizards in a deal that netted them Deni Avdija. There have also been recent reports that Portland may be looking to trade Simons and/or Jerami Grant.
