On June 24th, Portland traded away forward Nicolas Batum to Charlotte for Gerald Henderson and Noah Vonleh to kick off the offseason. After seeing the rest of their top players leave, excluding Damian Lillard, it may have been better for the Blazers to have kept Batum on the roster.

Shortly after his arrival in Rip City, Henderson underwent hip surgery for the second time in his career, but is expected back by the time training camp begins. Even when he is healthy, however, he’s no Nic Batum. Batum is a defensive anchor and a prolific three-point shooter, despite his poor 2014-2015 season for Portland. Henderson is an average defender and has trouble putting the ball through the net from three-point land.

The other acquisition from the trade was Noah Vonleh. He played one year for Indiana and went straight into the 2014 draft, where he was taken ninth overall by Charlotte. In his rookie season, Vonleh played just 25 games, none of which he started. During the few games he did play, he saw only ten minutes of floor time on average and tallied 3.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per night.

Portland fans were not happy with the outcome of the Batum trade. Henderson’s career is at a standstill and he’s not nearly the dynamic player Batum is, and Vonleh is an unproven young talent who most likely wouldn’t see much time in a Blazer uniform.

Interestingly enough, the exit of LaMarcus Aldridge and Robin Lopez vacated frontcourt space available to anyone. New additions Ed Davis and Mason Plumlee will grab most of the available minutes along with Meyers Leonard, but Vonleh could see an increase in floor time from last season. He and Chris Kaman will pick up the extra time when those three big men need a rest.

Throughout the summer league, Vonleh proved he was worthy of such a position. He participated in four of the six games Portland played, and managed to outperform every other player on the team. He averaged 17.3 points on 56 percent shooting and 8.5 rebounds in 29 minutes per game.

Since the regular season ended, Vonleh has added 20 pounds and is now a more dominant force down low, as seen by his rebounding during summer league. The former high school point guard was able to take sluggish forwards off the dribble and penetrate the paint with ease, helping his percentages stay above 50. Also, Vonleh’s comfort shooting the ball from range illustrates his versatility; he went 5 of 10 from beyond the arc.

In his rookie season, Vonleh shot the ball a woeful 39 percent from the field, but he’s already jumped that number to above 50 percent in the four summer league games. When he’s on the court for the Blazers during the regular season, not many other players alongside him will be proficient scorers. Their bench isn’t as deep as previously, meaning Vonleh should have plenty of opportunities to shoot.

Coach Terry Stotts expressed his enjoyment with Vonleh’s play too. After Vonleh’s final summer league game against Boston, Stotts said, “(Vonleh) is still a young player, he’s got a lot of growth in him in a lot of areas...I thought all-around, he played a solid summer league, whether scoring, rebounding shooting, defending.” The first impression between player and coach is positive, a good sign for Vonleh who is vying for those extra few minutes once the season starts.

While Vonleh may not be ready for a big role in the NBA quite yet, he, along with several other players on Portland’s roster, has room to grow. The Blazers put together a young, athletic group ready for the future. With Damian Lillard leading the way on a five-year contract, guys like Vonleh, C.J. McCollum, Meyers Leonard, Pat Connaughton and Mason Plumlee could combine to form a solid team in the upcoming seasons. All in all, while Portland did lose Aldridge, Matthews, Batum and Lopez, they gained many young talent in return that could help Rip City become contenders in the near future.