Woj: Blazers to Sign Undrafted Jaylen Hoard to NBA Free-Agent Contract

The Portland Trail Blazers will sign Wake Forest forward Jaylen Hoard to a two-way contract after he went undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft on Thursday night, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Hoard's Scouting Profile (h/t B/R's Jonathan Wasserman)

Offensive Strengths

Versatile scorer from both forward spots. Mismatch size for a wing or 4 who can face up and scorer.

Offensive Weaknesses

Needs to improve three-point shooting. Lacks muscle/toughness around the basket.

Defensive Outlook

Lacks strength to guard bigs but has good foot speed, length to defend the perimeter.

Projected role: Reserve combo forward

Analysis

Hoard, the first one-and-done player in Wake Forest men's basketball history, appeared in all 31 games for the Demon Deacons in 2018-19 and started 30 of them.

The freshman forward averaged 13.1 points and 7.6 rebounds while also notching seven double-doubles, according to the program's official website.

The France native arrived at Wake Forest as the program's highest-ranked recruit since 2008 as a 5-star out of High Point Wesleyan in North Carolina. 

His projection as a reserve player coincides with HoopsHype's No. 64 aggregate ranking for Hoard among all prospects in this draft.

To maximize his potential as a versatile scorer, though, Hoard needs to improve his three-point shooting. In 31 games at Wake Forest, he shot just 22.6 percent from downtown. That said, the Trail Blazers must know they are signing a project and should look to bring Hoard along gradually.