Phil Pressey Signs with Portland Trailblazers
Let’s hear it for the underdog! Today it was announced the Portland Trailblazers signed former-Celtics point guard, Phil Pressey for a short-term deal.
As Trailblazers’ reporter Casey Holdahl tweets:
"Trail Blazers sign forward Cliff Alexander AND point guard Phil Pressey. By my count, the Blazers have 14 players under contract."
While it’s still unclear whether Pressey’s contract is guaranteed or not, most reports – at this point – have suggested that it is indeed, guaranteed.
Pressey, at 24 years old, will be a welcomed addition to a Trailblazers team on the brink of a rebuild. With post-up specialist, LaMarcus Aldridge headed to the Spurs, this young Blazers squad will likely pick up its pace. Pressey excels in fast-paced offenses, as Stevens’ deployment of Pressey was primarily for the sake of injecting energy into the C’s.
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Boston waived Pressey on July 15th – the day before his contract became guaranteed. The decision to waive him was allegedly so last minute because Danny Ainge was extremely torn over his decision to waive Pressey – due to his respect he had for the 5’11” point guard.
Ainge relayed to the Boston Globe:
"“Phil may be my favorite player I’ve ever been around in the NBA, as a player, a coach or as an executive. It was a very difficult morning for me today. He’s a player I’d want on my team all the time. Unfortunately, we just have an abundance of small guards already. It’s unfortunate. He’s helped us a lot in the last two years, and he’s a classy and hardworking player.”"
This year Pressey averaged: 3.1 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 2.9 apg, 0.8 spg. He shot 36.8% from the field and 24.6% from three.
From afar, Pressey’s stats are unimpressive, yet, for those of us that have watched him closely, his impact could be immensely beneficial. There’d be times when Rajon Rondo or Evan Turner just wouldn’t be getting the job done at point, and so Stevens would insert Pressey into the lineup – and all of a sudden – the C’s had their groove back.
He gave the Celtics a well-needed boost of energy after the starters grew fatigued. He commanded the Celtics second-unit with an element of excitement – defined by his nifty passing and cunning pick-pocketing skills.
However, Pressey’s largely struggled thus far in his NBA career, perhaps due in part to his size and inability to shoot. After he was waived, things were quiet until today, so it was unclear whether or not Pressey could land back in the NBA.
While Pressey may never become a star, or even a starter for that matter, he can carve himself a nice role in this league if he can find some consistency shooting. Unfortunately, he’s destined to be a journeyman, and Portland will just be one of many stops for him in what is hopefully be a long NBA career.