The Portland Trail Blazers always knew Rayan Rupert would be a project when they took a low-risk flyer on the French prospect with the No. 43 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Unfortunately, given Rupert's lack of progress in Year 3, the Blazers should strongly consider pulling the plug on this experiment.
This season, Rupert is averaging a career-low 1.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, 0.3 assists, and 0.5 steals in just 8.0 minutes per game. Portland has been extremely shorthanded to start the season, with nearly half of its roster showing up on the injury report as of late.