Portland Trail Blazers incoming third-year big man Zach Collins is looking forward to a potentially huge year in the upcoming season. The Blazers look set on giving the 21-year-old a bigger role on the team, and for his part, Collins is just making sure that he is completely ready for the challenges ahead.
NBA TV recently caught up with Collins in the Blazers' Las Vegas Summer League matchup against the Houston Rockets on Sunday night, and the 7-foot big man opened up about how he is looking to improve on his overall skill set for the coming season.
“I’m just making sure my skills are really polished for next season.”
–@trailblazers big man & Las Vegas native @zcollins_33 talks with @JaredSGreenberg at #NBASummer! pic.twitter.com/79YAdZ6PXL
— NBA TV (@NBATV) July 8, 2019
Over the past week or so, the Blazers parted ways with Enes Kanter (signed a two-year, $10 million deal with the Boston Celtics) as well as Meyers Leonard (traded to the Miami Heat along with Mo Harkless in exchange for Hassan Whiteside).
Last season's starting big man Jusuf Nurkic continues to recover from his season-ending leg injury, and is not expected to be back for the Blazers until February of next year.
All these developments point to the fact that the Blazers seem to be looking to increase Collins' role for the team moving forward. Former Heat big man Hassan Whiteside might take on the starting center role to start the season, but it would not be surprising at all if Collins takes over somewhere down the road.
Whatever the case may be, it is almost certain that Collins should be looking at a heavier workload compared to his 17.6 minutes per game last season.
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