Trail Blazers Roster Moves: Portland Signs Chris Youngblood and Waives Javonte Cook

What up world, it's your past first point guard and trailblazers reporter Mike Richmond.

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We're talking about some roster shuffling.

The Blazers making moves in March along with many other teams in the league because we

are approaching a deadline and deadlines spur actions.

We've made it to Wednesday on Wednesday, March 4th.

We will hit the deadlines.

You finalize two way contracts.

So there's a bunch of teams around the league shuffling out either two way contracts as

they have open spots due to promotions or trades and making some moves to fill those spots

and to maybe wave some guys who if they want to fill spots with some other players who

might be available and the Blazers did just that.

They added a young wing, Chris Youngblood.

They let go.

Another wing.

Giovante Cook, Happy Trails.

We'll talk about both of those guys kind of a little mini introduction to Chris Youngblood.

Who is he?

And then with Cook, he was just such a strange, the whole Giovante Cook thing was relatively

strange in and of itself.

I don't think particularly meaningful, but I just, in general, just a weird way to handle

decisions around the margins of the roster.

We will get into all of that plus a very brief update on the Senate bill that's going

to have hundreds of millions of dollars of public tax money that's going to build a new arena

here and renovate the arena here in Portland and keep the team in town at the cost of us

and not them.

Let's get into Chris Youngblood's first though.

Who is he?

Well, he's six, four, listed at two, twenty.

He's a rookie who spent five years in college, started at Kennesaw State.

He was part of that COVID class, he got to five years in school, started Kennesaw State

for three years, spent a year at South Florida, where he was the American athletic player of

the year at South Florida, Go Bulls, and then he transferred Alabama as for his final

collegiate season, where he came off the bench on a very good Alabama team, two seed in

the tournaments, maybe elite eights, he was a good college basketball player, and then

he went undrafted and signed eventually a two-way contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder

played with the Thunder, appeared in 32 games, he was a small minutes back half of the

roster guy with Oklahoma City, but he ended up wearing out his 50 game active list availability

and then he got waived at the beginning of February, February six, he got waived just

before his 24th birthday, happy birthday, Chris Youngblood, you are now unemployed, but

now you are employed yet again because he has been signed by the Blazers, did not have

to make a corresponding move to add Chris Youngblood, they got him because they have an

open two-way spot, each team gets 15 NBA roster spots, Blazers, all of those are full,

and three two-way spots that gives you a total of 18, and the Blazers had an open two-way

spot because they had converted City Soko, so there is no in and out for Chris Youngblood

and it didn't have to be, so who is he, he is like a, I read a couple brief scouting reports

on him, he was not heavily scouted coming out of the draft, he was invited to the Geely

Galete camp but he didn't go to the combine and is not only the deepest scouting reports

have even Chris Youngblood on there, he is a bench guy on a good college basketball team,

he is kind of like the right NBA size 64220, a bigger guard, I remember when he came

through with Oklahoma City, if you would ask me how big he was, I would have said six foot eight,

so I remember not knowing who he was, this is my recollection of him, I said I don't know who

that is, I don't know who Youngblood is, so he's getting in the game, and like I also imagine him

being much larger in my recollection, so learning that he's actually like a shooting guard is like,

oh, how about that, but he's a shooter, like that's probably what he is, first and foremost,

he was a good shooter in college, 39.3% are in college on 5.6 attempts per game, almost six

threes a game in college on 39% shooting, that's a bona fide shooter, he has not shot particularly

well at the professional level, you know, he played in 17 games in the Geely across the tip-off

tournaments and the regular season, you'll see a lot of people cited as 10 games, don't forget

to combine those stats because the Geely season is weird, but he played in 17 games and shot 34%

from three with the Oklahoma City Blue, but you know, he played more games 32, or more appearances,

I should say, he played way more minutes in the G because when he was down, he played a bunch,

but you know, more appearances with the NBA club 32 than his 17 in the G, but he's not taking a lot

to, 16 of 51 from three, he took 60 total field goals, so that's 51 three pointers,

nine two pointers during his NBA career, he had to take 10 free throws and he imagines probably

those game attempts inside the arc, but if you're scoring at home, that's a cool 85% 3 point rate,

85% of his shot attempts are from three, so like why I'm mentioning the three point shooting is

because that seems to be the thing that is, he's gonna, he's gonna have to do it, you know,

for the most part, this is kind of what modern off ball players do in the NBA is they spit,

you're a spacer, right? You know, you give the other, you give the others like better creator space

to get things done, you know, 34% the G league, 31 and a half percent, 31.4% in the NBA, he has not

shot particularly well at professional level, but it's, you know, in theory, it's in there somewhere,

and I think like just the fact that he was on the OKC active list for 50 games tells you that

at least another well-respected NBA franchise thinks that he is like at least borderliney NBA player,

and that's kind of what we're talking about here, he's not gonna play, like look at, unless someone

gets hurt, he's not gonna play, like look at the Blazers roster, like who is, who,

unless someone is is injured, he will not get an opportunity, it's just they, they're full up,

and they, they don't, that is not the sort of position of glaring need, they need a center,

they need one more big man, but they didn't, that's not what they did. I'll talk about more about

sort of their approach to two-way stuff in the second segment, but, you know, so I assume there's

been no reporting on this, not locally or nationally, I think it was first reported by Michael

Scott of Hoops hype, but neither Freeman or Hike and the local guys did not have whether this was

the length of this deal, I have to assume it's for two years, meaning the end of this season and

next, two-way contracts are non-guaranteed, so there's no actually real risk in signing,

in signing a two-year deal, you can just, you can just wave them, it's, there's a guarantee date,

like deeper into the season for two-way guys, but it's, it doesn't count against the salary cap

ever, and it's a non-guaranteed, a fully non-guaranteed deal, just by its nature, so there's no,

I assume this has to be a two-year contract, or two-year two-way contract, so, because he's like,

there's no room for him to play this year, so the value in getting him on the roster would be

getting a close rye on him, letting him play for the remix, letting him practice, letting,

you know, having him travel a little bit, find out what kind of guy he is, find out, you know,

if, you know, see a little bit of him up close, I'm sure they've scattered him, and if they

signed him, I'm sure they scout him plenty, playing for the OkC Blue, and playing a little bit for,

playing a little bit of Oklahoma City, hopefully they knew how tall he was, and I'm like me,

it was like, isn't he like a four? No, he's a two-guard buddy, so, you know, the, you're getting a

flyer on him, assuming it's a multi-year contract, so that way you can, he'll have a similar role

next year, and if you decide in the summertime that that's not the way you want to go, there's no

risk, like two-way contracts, they're not very player-friendly, but they have real flexibility from

a team perspective, and if young blood ends up being a player, good, but like, I think that's what

I want to talk about in the second segment, is some of the blades approach to two-way contracts,

because this is not a, this is not a position of need, they did not sign someone to a position of

need, and they, it's, it speaks to, so maybe the general approach, and I will talk a little about

Javante Cook, who has since been waived by the trailblazers in an unrelated move to be sure.

Joining me in the second segment, as we continue to talk, the end of the Blazers roster and the

March reshuffling towards that back end, joining the second segment, won't ya?

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link in the show notes come hang locked on blazer.supercast.com. Okay, so the Blazers in unrelated move,

importantly unrelated move and importantly unrelated move, they waived Javante Cook on a two-way

contract. The Blazers of course had a open two-way spot. So they added Chris Youngblood and now they

have since waived the Javante Cook. You would assume that they did that for a couple of reasons. One,

it gives Cook a very brief window Tuesday and Wednesday to find another job if another team wants

to sign them to a two-way deal and more importantly, probably for the Blazers, if they have someone else

that they want to add to a two-way spot in a similar vein to Chris Youngblood, where you say,

let's get them on, you know, get them in the building, be here in the summertime, be here on the

G League team, you know, play here in the summer league team and then come back in the fall and then

we can make decisions on kind of what you want to do. You would assume that they will fill that

roster spot, it would be stunning if they didn't do it. But who knows what they'll do.

Javante Cook, the whole Javante Cook experience remains very strange to me. Not necessarily bad,

but just the whole like I don't mean it like I guess I do feel I mean be honest about my feelings

here. This is my podcast. I don't need to lie. I feel generally negative about the way I went down,

but I don't think it's like capital B bad or like some sort of like proof of, I don't know,

just like malpractice by the organization. I just find it so strange, I find it so strange.

So Javante Cook played 19 total games, 19 total appearances, 94 minutes, we watched him shoot 41

times, 41 field goal attempts, 94 minutes, 19 games, he just barely played, right? But that's

the thing about two-way players, they barely played. That's a very normal thing. The city's

Soko outcome is like a uniquely positive outcome. That is not typically how they go down.

It's not the only one that gets converted, but it is much more likely that you end up in the

Chris Youngblood where you just play and then hey, we don't have a roster spot for you,

you're kind of a fringy NBA guy and you've run out of your fringy NBA guy opportunities,

peace. You have now been waived. But like Cook never got even like sort of the break the glass

opportunities when the blazers were severely underbanded in November and December when they're

trotting out. We've got nine available bodies and one of them is Javante Cook. He wasn't getting

in the game. He was getting DNPs when they were just straight up desperate for anyone to contribute

when they were so beat up. And at the time, I think a mail-back question about this and maybe in

the middle of December someone asked like, hey, why am the blazer signs a couple players that were

on the on the on the rip city remix, their Geelyga affiliate who have now gone on since to sign

two-way contracts. Blake Hinson is a shooter who went to pit signs with the Utah Jazz and Dylan Jones

went on to sign a two-way deal with the New York Knicks. So like, it was like, you know, the question

back then was like, why not sign one of these productive Geelygers and waived Cook? And I said at

the time like, you know, I don't know enough about it like Hinson specifically and that was the

name that like comes up with a lot of fans because he could shoot it and then in the G and the blazers

need shooting. It's like, you know, I can't speak to like what the blazers saw scouting-wise and

I haven't I've watched a lot more Hinson than Javante Cook. I've never really seen Javante Cook play

and at least Blake Hinson went to pit. I saw him play against Carolina a couple times like I've

seen him play basketball. You know, it's like I can't speak to it but my guess at the time is like

even if Cook is a little bit older at 26, Hinson is also about the same age. It's like, you know,

the blazers clearly like kind of they see something and they value him and all that like they value him

and then but they don't really because they waive him at the end of this without ever giving him

him without ever giving him an opportunity and I think this is just the weird part like

sort of the general just how you operate on the margins here with this type of thing.

I think is I don't know that it's like again, I don't know his malpractice but I think it is notable

like how you were operating in the margins was particularly when you're not a very good team,

right? Like you want to take it you want to take as many swings as you possibly can at the

pinata, right? Like you don't want to leave that thing hanging. I went to a five-year-old birthday

party earlier this year and one of the fellow five-year-olds just whacked the heck out of the pinata.

I won't dox this child's name but when when it was their turn yet again, I was like yes,

give this kid the bat. I want to lay her going to what and like I feel like the blazers do not

embody the spirit of that kid. They embody the spirit more of my child who was like I don't

want to hit the pinata. That's too loud. I don't want to hit it. But like I just feel like you're

leaving you're leaving candy in that thing you're leaving you're leaving candy in that colorful

donkey up there or whatever it was Olaf from frozen because so like if cooks not part of the plan

right if the coach isn't going to play him 94 minutes since October a lot of time on the

an active list 19 total appearances like if the coach isn't going to play him at some point you

either have to say hey we really like this dude and when we need bodies get him out there right

that doesn't always work front-office and coaching staff you know sometimes you try to

try to stay out of the way provide them with good players and stay out of the way but like

you know provide them with players you think are good and stay out of the way I think it's a bit

better way to say that but at some point it's like what is the point of what is the point of the

dramatic hook experience because my my reasoning at the time is I don't know any better but the blazers

have to value this guy because otherwise why would it be on the roster when they there's like some clear

you know skill upgrades that they could they could offer somewhere else so some clear sort of needs

that they need to fill and then they don't do that not that like Blake Henson is going to change

the blazers outcome this year right but I just think it's it's it's the lack of action there at the

is it's not saying nope this doesn't work and this is a this is an opportunity on the margins that

at least at least worth a swing at least worth a swing and like Giovanni Cuxman his numbers at least

I'm watching them at all in the G League some of you have I know some of uh shout out to the

shout out to the homies in the discord who have who filled me in on all the all the G League stuff

who who go more frequently and and let me know that's that's why you join the every day

or cleft so you can be my scouts my own paid scouts I guess you pay me a small amount of money

to do scouting for me is it it's a better deal than that sounds um but like you know

but you're looking as numbers Cuxman pretty good in the G League not like spectacular but good

a 20 20 summer game score like he he in many he gets a lot of steals and blocks every so often um

but like if you're not going to cycle through Gleegers and take a just take a dart throw at someone

who might be able to help when you're desperately in need of bodies in December and then they're

not part of the plan into the future it just seems like you're punting on some chances to try to

get better it seems like you're missing opportunities at the margins now let me be clear when I say

that I said I said it once but I want to be I want to be clear I do not think that the Blake

Henson's Dylan Jones is whomever it might be of the world are going to be the thing that turns

the tides for the Blazers I think it is a general approach though not taking opportunities at the

margins speaks to a general approach that I don't agree with I think you take as many swings at

the pinata as possible indeed as a father I went and encouraged my young and somewhat shy child

to swing at Olaf do you eventually got up there and did it was pretty fun

but um you know the other kid knocked knocked that sucker down and got all the candy out because

they were taken big swings and I don't think this is a big swing this is just getting standing

up there and lightly tapping Olaf hanging from suspended from the ceiling at some uh

undisclosed location in northeast Portland so like I just in general um I find the Javante Cook

saga bizarre as an approach to roster building I think that's and I have another thought on the

Blazers sort of approach to roster building which I don't think is a negative I just think it is

something I maybe in light of Javante cooking now in in light of Chris Young but kind of just

the thing I'm thinking about with the way the Blazers approach to roster spot and considering that

they've still got another still got another two-way spot available not roster spot two-way spot

specifically available I will share that thought in the third segment plus a little bit of a mile

minor update on Senate Bill 1501 as well the Blazers march closer to getting $600 million to build

themselves a new arena join me in that third segment won't you first I want to tell you that

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your game still a past first point guard i'm still mic rich man you still listen to locked on places

one last straight thought on uh uh two way contracts in general i think one thing i've learned

about how the blazers treat these two way contracts in light of the chris young blood signing and

light of the jubantic book signing is they don't treat them necessarily like um

specific band aids for an ailment that they have because if they did um they would sign a center

because they do need center depth it is very clearly need center depth not that like a two there's

just like not that many tall people in the g league um you know because of the existence of three

two way contracts across the NBA like viable big men taller than six ten they're going to get

swooped up right there's just not a lot of options out there um but like you know they're not even

signing guys like four like us four five-ish and could like play you know play at six foot eight

play small ball center and center in a pension is like a good rebound or whatever um they

they kind of treat each one of these as just like hey this might help and i think that that is

a reasonable approach because i think the reality of the g league contracts is that these guys

probably won't help right there you're you're you're you're taken a flyer on a guy who you know

often undrafted um you know or or or is a younger player who couldn't get a full-time gig in the

g league and is like kind of hanging or in the NBA and is like hanging on on the fringes of like

hey you're a good g leagueer but like maybe you don't want to move degrees yet um and and so like

because of the reality of that that like it they are mostly flyers and guys who are going to have a

very short stint in the league um and and really have a very small window to prove that they're

capable and like and without a lot of commitment to them to sort of get um get get the opportunity to

like move you know take take steps forward um you know there's city soko is the exception the

the sort of the javante cooks to the general experience right i think even chris young blood and

you know kc's a general experience of is that you you guys you know they don't make it they they

turn through and i think the bladgers have have not um typically treated two way contracts as

as as a way to you can treat them in two ways you can treat them as positional depth what is the

position we don't have okay we need another point guard let's make sure we have a one more point guard

on on on a two way contract just in case oh we need another big let's make sure we have another

big on a two way contract just in case oh we need just like a random shooter like can't do

anything else but probably can make a stand still three let's make sure we have that one skill set

on the bench instead of like specific band-aids the bladgers have taken have treated more like

flyers let's let's take let's take a lottery ticket maybe it'll work maybe it won't um you know i

don't cook maybe doesn't exactly fit that lottery ticket description considering that he's older

than denny of the anti-cumara but like in theory my read on is that they thought that this was like a

you know sort of diamond in the rough interesting defender big guard athlete and it just like it

didn't work out for whatever reason um and so i wonder what they will do with um their final two

way spot but i do not i do not necessarily anticipate um i don't think young blood will play um i

don't think kale blobs gonna play again unless they absolutely need him i think he's gonna be in the

glee i think that's just his fate um and so i the whoever they sign with this final spot i don't

expect them to play and so i don't expect that to be a uh sort of a positional need or a depth

or a or like to to be address a need on the NBA team and said it's gonna be another like

maybe this guy will help let's get him in the building and if he's good enough to be an NBA player

that's a good problem to have like even if he's if he's an overlap skill wise um and i guess the

blazers are like really committed to getting guys who can't really shoot or dribble that they got

to have they have a type uh that's mean but it's true also um okay uh minor political update as we

continue to track the happenings in beautiful salam organ how the the seat of marion county uh the

the midwillamit valley shout out to um shout out to all my homies who attended high school in the

great city of salam i have several uh their senate bill five of fifteen oh one which does not

have anything to do with salam high schools but the state capital is indeed in salam uh passed through

the budget committee that's the ways and means committee and now it goes back to the senate floor

for a final vote um this is just you know once it it passed it passed through to the to the

budget committee once it once it passed in a four to one vote last week it had to pass through

the budget committee it passed with no objections and now it comes back to the floor for a final

vote in the senate um the the legislative session is a short session thirty five days it ends on

March 8th so this has to be wrapped up by no later than Monday um part of the bill includes that

the city and the county that's the city of portland and then all number county will also make

commitments um to uh financially to to have this this bill go into effect and also the bill

like the tom dunes has to purchase the blazers for this um the sales to go through and be finalized

and i believe uh the specifics of the bill it needs to be sold to tom dunes uh as as the acting

owner the controlling owner um uh to be it's to have this uh this money be available nothing's

changed though it's still going to be about three hundred and sixty five million dollars from

from at the state level uh about eighty eight million dollars from the county level and the

remainder made up from the uh city of portland it'll be taken from money allocated from the general

fund of taxes uh mostly taxing players and construction that goes on to the renovations of the

motor center and performers at the motor center that money would otherwise just go to the general

fund it's not uh there's no private money going into this this was always the way it was going to go

and it seems like it's always it's just this is the way it is going to go um but i think importantly

as i mentioned kind of when this bill was first introduced or or first passed last week um

it or sent to the budget committee last week is like once this gets rolling downhill the momentum

for this happening is is you know the blazers the good news is that the blazers are going to stay in

town the bad news is maybe the mechanism by which they do it although like this is just kind

of how it works in American professional sports it's unfortunate that this has been my opinion

unfortunate this is the way it works but this is the way it works um yeah uh so i think by this time

next week and i'm recording this on you're listening to Tuesday March 3rd shown recording this on

delayed on a Monday evening um by this time next week we should have a resolution of the blazers like

with at least a legal commitment legal mechanism to keep them in town and to renovate the motor

center over three summers in 2027 2028 and 2029 and get you a sparkly new arena that you everyone

definitely needs everybody needs even the even the billionaire who we're building it for he definitely

needs it to um because it's like there's definitely a way that you could prove to me that this is somehow

financially beneficial once it's a shinier new stadium i'm i'm sure someone will be able to explain

that to me at some point um that's going to do it for today's program enough snark to end the show

i'm glad i got to share a little pinata story for you not even a metaphor that was in my notes

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