National Basketball Association

Trail Blazers Finalize Roster: Quarterman Wins Spot

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Trail Blazers announce their fifteen-man roster for opening night

The roster is set. Fifteen players that make up the 2016-2017 Portland Trail Blazers will now move into preparation the Utah Jazz. Although the final cuts may have been a surprise to some fans, it makes sense long-term.

Tim Quarterman ultimately beat out Luis Montero, Greg Stiemsma and Grant Jerrett for the final roster spot. Quarterman only featured in 16 minutes of preseason action, less than Stiemsma and Jerrett. So how did he win the spot?

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For starters, it helps the Trail Blazers financially. As Blazers Edge noted, Quarterman’s salary is around a half a million this season, but only $75k is guaranteed through January 10th. As veterans, Jerrett and Stiemsma were set to make more. If you consider that the fifteenth player on a roster rarely sees court action, why not keep the player that will cost the least?

Financial reasoning alone is not a good way to run a franchise and is unfair to Quarterman. The 21 year old out of Louisiana State University is talented. During his final college season, Quarterman seemed like a lock to be drafted. However, their season went sideways and Quarterman slipped on NBA draft boards.

A project-type player for the fifteenth man made sense for this team. The Trail Blazers roster is incredibly deep. There are twelve or thirteen players that are strong enough to earn significant minutes. Barring a catastrophe of injuries, the fifteenth man will not see the floor.

If the General Manager Neil Olshey and Head Coach Terry Stotts wanted to take on a project, Quarterman is the perfect prototype. He is a lengthy wing (6’6” with a nearly 7’ winsgspan) who has the ability to shoot and defend. Even though he proved to be inconsistent at shooting and defending in college, Stotts’ staff may be able to develop him over the next year or two.

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