Following Damian Lillard’s trade to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Portland Trail Blazers have embarked on a new phase of their rebuilding process. The Blazers will experience some growing pains in the upcoming years because they are armed with youthful players and draught picks. Having Scoot Henderson, the third overall pick, as a potential franchise player helps, though. This week, the Blazers took a significant step in their roster-building process by dismissing John Butler Jr. from his two-way deal. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Blazers signed forward Justin Minaya to a two-way contract.
Prior to this, Justin Minaya had signed a training camp contract with the Blazers, thus his prospects of making the opening night roster were rather limited. Minaya will now play for the Blazers’ G League affiliate, Rip City Remix, even though he will be on the roster for the regular season. He signs a two-way contract with Skylar Mays and Ibou Badji, the other two players.
Minaya signed a one-day contract with the Blazers near the end of the regular season, which gave him his first NBA opportunity. He played in four games for the Blazers in the end, averaging 4.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.0 assists while shooting 25 percent from three-point range and 30.4 percent from the field overall.
Minaya started his professional career in the G League with the Capitanes de Ciudad de Mexico after being undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draught.
David works for ClutchPoints as an NBA Associate Editor. Based in Los Angeles, he currently covers basketball at all levels, including high school, college, and the NBA and WNBA for both men and women.
