Portland Trail Blazers

How will Cliff Alexander's knee injury affect his status in Portland?

Published Oct. 5, 2015 12:34 p.m. ET

foxsports

Cliff Alexander went from high-school superstar, to collegiate disappointment, to undrafted free agent, to hopeful member of the Portland Trail Blazers.

But will a knee injury prevent Alexander from making the team? Here's more on the situation, per The Oregonian's Joe Freeman:

Alexander is one of five players at Trail Blazers' training camp with a non-guaranteed contract, and the team has until Oct. 24 to waive any or all of them before taking a cap hit. But it appears Alexander has already made a positive impression on Stotts and a few teammates.

Portland's frontcourt is stacked, but Alexander's contract value is tremendous, especially if he can crack Stotts' rotation at some point this season. He's still only 19 years old.

But while the timing seems detrimental to Alexander's chances of making the regular season roster, Stotts said it wasn't anything but a deathblow. When asked if a player like Alexander can miss two weeks of training camp and still make the team, Stotts immediately said yes. "He's a young guy," Stotts said. "We have to cut two players. So hopefully he'll stay involved and get back. But I think it's too early to make any decisions like that."