Defensive specialists Jeremy Sochan and Sidy Cissoko clash for backup minutes, forcing coach Micah Nori to choose between veteran playmaking and physical wing depth in Portland’s rotation.
Two former San Antonio Spurs players, now in the Portland Trail Blazers' training camp this week, cut from the same mold and are battling for the same role.
Sidy Cissoko spent last season fighting his way to a standard NBA contract. Jeremy Sochan spent it collecting a championship ring from the New York Knicks' bench.
Now they're chasing the same backup small forward minutes behind Deni Avdija. How coach Micah Nori settles it will say a lot about what Portland values.
Sochan, 23, signed a one-year, non-guaranteed veteran's minimum deal after the Spurs waived him in February.
The former ninth overall pick started 126 of his first 130 games in San Antonio before injuries and a new wave of Spurs young talent pushed him out of the rotation.
Sochan is a 6-foot-8 forward who can defend multiple positions on the court and has the ability to attack in space.
Cissoko, 22, did the opposite. He played 75 games last season, started 26 and averaged 19.1 minutes, mostly on the strength of his physicality. Portland converted his two-way contract to a standard one.
The overlap is the issue. Both are defense-first players who struggle from behind the arc. Sochan shot 24.4 percent from deep last year, and Cissoko made 29.8 percent of his 198 attempts.
Put them on the floor at the same time, and Portland's paint gets crowded, so Nori will most likely never have them on the court together.
Sochan offers a little bit more on offense. He has scored 20 or more points 19 times in his career, with a career high of 33. He also brings more playmaking to the table.
Cissoko's case is about fit. He's already earned meaningful rotation minutes for the Blazers, and Shaedon Sharpe's knee injury opens up more true wing minutes that Sochan can't fill in the same way.
Portland has 12 guaranteed contracts, with Sochan, Vit Krejci and Micah Potter fighting for the final roster spots.
If the Blazers carry a full 15, and last season's injuries taught them the value of depth, both could find a way to survive. Either way, the prize will be a modest 12-15 minutes a game.
Preseason opens up on Oct. 7 against Golden State at Moda Center.
Watch which of the two Nori plays with the second unit, and whether either player's jumper looks different. A leap in Cissoko's shot consistency would make him the safer bet. If Sochan makes a big difference in playmaking areas, it could make him the interesting one.
With the regular season tipping off in late October, one will have the job, and the other will be fighting for a spot on the roster.
