Portland Trail Blazers add official G League team

The new team will begin this fall, playing games at the University of Portland's Chiles Center. It's the first time Portland has had an affiliate in the NBA's developmental league in its 22-year history. That means when their younger players or those on two-way contracts need playing time, they have to send them to another team's affiliate - and the closest one is over 600 miles away in Stockton.

Portland played plenty of G League players last season - but on their actual NBA team, once they began tanking for draft position in earnest. By the end of the season, Portland was giving big minutes to John Butler Jr., Chance Comanche, Justin Minaya and Jeenathan Williams, all of whom had only played in the G League before.

Not having a G League affiliate can present problems. No. 7 overall pick Shaedon Sharpe spent the entire season playing in the NBA, despite being a 19-year-old who didn't play any college games the previous year. Portland signed three different players to two-way contracts last year, and only one - Butler - saw any action for the big club, despite the team's injury issues.

Normally, a G League team takes over a year to set up, but Portland is fast-tracking their team because they've got a lottery pick in the 2023 draft plus the No. 23 pick from the Knicks. Combined with existing young players Sharpe, Butler and 21-year-old Keon Johnson, that means Portland will have a lot of young guys who need playing time.

That also suggests two possibilities for next season. First, that the team will listen to Damian Lillard, who said in his exit interview, "I don't have much of an appetite for building with guys two and three years away." That would mean dealing one or more of their picks for veterans that can help Lillard win now.

Or, it could mean that the team does the unthinkable and sends Lillard to a contender, which would likely bring back more picks and young players to Portland. Either way, they'll need a place for the young guys to develop - either because of the glut of prospects, or because they don't want the development to take place on the court with Dame Time.

Now the only team without a G League team is the Phoenix Suns, who are reportedly "actively pursuing" a team. But they've got less urgency than Portland, since the Suns traded four of their next seven first-round picks to Brooklyn for Kevin Durant. The only thing Phoenix is interested in developing right now is the photos of their championship parade.