Blazers Signing Familiar Free Agent Face to New Contract

Portland is reportedly bringing back an intriguing young piece this year.

Apr 14, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Taze Moore (76) dunks over Sacramento Kings center JaVale McGee (00) in the fourth quarter at the Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

The Portland Trail Blazers have a new addition to their roster as training camp fast approaches.

Sources inform Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN that Portland has agreed to a two-way deal with free agent shooting guard Tazé Moore, a familiar face for Trail Blazers fans.

The 6-foot-5 swingman went undrafted out of the University of Houston in 2022, and spent 2022 NBA Summer League with the Brooklyn Nets.

After failing to gain much traction there, he joined German club BG Göttingen, but spent just one game there before returning closer to home. He was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks' G League affiliate, the Texas Legends, with the No. 9 overall pick. Across 24 contests (23 starts) in 2022-23, he averaged 13.9 points on .493/.368/.679 shooting splits, 6.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.6 blocks per bout.

He returned to the Legends ahead of the 2023-24 season, and was flipped to Portland's NBAGL affiliate, the Rip City Remix. Moore became the Remix's first player to ever earn a promotion to Portland proper in January 2024, when he inked a 10-day deal with the Trail Blazers, before rejoining the Remix when the agreement expired. He signed a rest-of-year deal with Portland on April 14.

All told, Moore appeared in four games for the Trail Blazers, averaging 4.5 points on .421/.143/.500 shooting splits, 2.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 0.5 steals in 10.0 minutes per.

In his 22 bouts for Rip City last year (18 starts), he averaged 15.6 points while slashing .496/.348/.733, 6.9 dimes, 5.2 boards, and 1.5 swipes a night.

Moore now occupies the Trail Blazers' final two-slot, alongside two other wings: small forward Justin Minaya and shooting guard Bryce McGowens.

The Trail Blazers now approach training camp with 14 players signed to fully-guaranteed deals on their 15-man standard roster. Two others — wing Dalano Banton and point guard Devonte' Graham — are currently inked to non-guaranteed contracts. Something's got to give. One of the team's currently rostered players will be cut before the start of the 2024-25 regular season.

Small forward Henri Drell, who appeared in four games with the Chicago Bulls last season, is currently inked to an Exhibit 10 training camp deal with the club, bringing their current tally of players to 20.

It will be fascinating to see if Moore can make a major impact this season with Rip City, and/or a rebuilding Trail Blazers team desperate for good young players.

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