The Portland Trail Blazers have no plans of signing additional players, despite the fact that big man Zach Collins recently underwent surgery to repair a dislocated left shoulder. Instead, Portland will stand pat and wait for Pau Gasol to return from his foot injury, according to a report from Jason Quick of The Athletic.
Don’t expect Blazers to sign another player in wake of Zach Collins surgery. Considering tax ramifications and what is out there, Blazers likely to be patient and wait for Pau Gasol to finish rehab. Gasol increasing work load, but no target date on return.
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) November 4, 2019
Zach Collins, now 21 years of age, remains without an official timetable for return. He was going to see an increased role with the Blazers this season, but now it seems he'll be out of commission for a while. As a result, Anthony Tolliver, Mario Hezonja, and Skal Labissiere will likely see upticks in their usage rates.
Collins injured his shoulder during last week's win over the Dallas Mavericks and has not played since. He was averaging a career-high 9.0 points per game on 47.4 percent shooting (42.9 percent from beyond the arc).
On the bright side, Gasol's rehabilitation seems to be progressing well, though he's still listed as “out indefinitely.” The Spanish-born center signed a one-year, $2.6 million deal with the Blazers in July, but he missed the entire preseason campaign due to his foot ailment. Hassan Whiteside has seen quite a bit of playing time in Gasol's absence, and with Collins sidelined, that trend will likely continue.
The Blazers fell to 3-3 with Saturday night's 129-128 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Portland will be back in action on Monday night, as they're scheduled to face the Golden State Warriors. Tip-off inside the new Chase Center is set for 10:30 p.m. ET, with NBA TV having live broadcast coverage.
Hopefully, Portland's big men will be able to get healthy sooner rather than later.
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