Blazers Rookie Elects to Leave Portland to Sign With Eastern Conference Team

Will Portland live to regret this departure?

Jan 17, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Detailed view of a Portland Trail Blazers logo warmup jersey before the game against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports / Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Ahead of training camp, the Portland Trail Blazers are losing one of their Exhibit 10 signings.

Brian Lewis of The New York Post reports that the Brooklyn Nets are nearing a two-way agreement with 6-foot-8 forward Yongxi “Jacky” Cui, though Brooklyn was mum when asked to confirm the rumor. Although Cui had apparently agreed to an Exhibit 10 training camp deal with the Trail Blazers, he had yet to actually sign it, meaning he was able to field better offers elsewhere.

Across two seasons with the Chinese Basketball Association's Guangzhou Loong Lions, Cui made his bid for an NBA destination. Last year, he averaged 15.6 points with Guangzhou.

Cui had hoped to be the league's first Chinese-born draft pick since 2016 this summer, but it was not to be. Instead, Cui went unselected in June's 2024 NBA Draft. He linked up with Portland's Summer League squad. Across three Summer League games, Cui averaged just 3.0 points on an encouraging .429/.400/1.000 slash line.

The 21-year-old first drew league attention thanks to a strong showing at the NBA Global Academy in Australia earlier this year. NBA head of international basketball development Chris Ebersole offered up a rave review to Cyro Asseo de Choch of HoopsHype.

“He was really, truly like cracking jokes. I just thought he was so impressive, willing to make mistakes and take risks,” Ebersole said. “Everybody, from our staff to all his teammates, thinks so highly of him because of that... He’s got really good feet and plays super hard. Those ingredients, for both on-ball defense and off-ball positioning, serve him well.”

He boasts a 6-foot-9 wingspan and a decent 34-inch maximum vertical. Will Portland, who still has an opening among its own two-way roster spots, live to regret letting him walk?

Portland is bringing back 6-foot-5 small forward Justin Minaya for a third season. Across 38 NBA contests between 2022-24, Minaya has averaged just 2.1 points on 29.9 percent field goal shooting, 1.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists. In his nine appearances for Rip City during the 2023-24 season, Minaya averaged 16.2 points on a .505/.352/.765 slash line, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 0.8 steals a night.

The Trail Blazers' second two-way slot is occupied by former Charlotte Hornets shooting guard Bryce McGowens. In his 59 games (14 starts) for the lowly Hornets last season, McGowens averaged 5.1 points while slashing .439/.333/.776, 1.7 rebounds and 0.9 dimes.

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