Blazers sign Pressy, Alexander

[DiamondThief]

July 24 -- The Trail Blazers announced today that they have signed point guard Phil Pressey and power forward Cliff Alexander. The particulars of the signings were not disclosed, but they are more likely than not, non-guaranteed contracts..

Pressey, 5'11", will be going into his third NBA season. He was waived by the Boston Celtics on July 15. He joined the Celtics as an undrafted free agent in the summer of 2013. He has averaged 3.1 points, 2.9 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 125 games in 125 games over his NBA career. His signing gives the Blazers a summer roster of three point guards with he, Damian Lillard and Tim Frazier. Pressey played college ball at the University of Missouri.


Cliff Alexander and Phil Pressey


Alexander, 6'8", was undrafted last month out of the University of Kansas. He is a project who never really found a role in one season in college, which was mired by an NCAA investigation which found his mother had received benefits from the university. Nonetheless, he was projected as a lottery pick coming out of high school. He played in the Las Vegas Summer League for the Brooklyn Nets, averaging 7.5 points and 6.4 rebounds in 22.8 minutes per game. He suffered a bruised sternum last season at Kansas, and injured his right knee in a pre-draft workout with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Alexander looks at his signing with the Blazers as a blessing. "God has still found ways to bless me through the struggle. I am officially part of the NBA & Trailblazer family," he tweeted.

The Blazers now have 14 players on the roster, not including forward Dorell Wright, who is a free agent, nor rookie forward Daniel Diez, who is expected to continue to play in Europe this season. Additionally, the Blazers still list free agent center Joel Freeland on the roster. Freeland has signed with MSKA Mosow and is expected to play in Russia.

- ANM



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[Cam]

I watch a lot of Kansas Jayhawk basketball and sort of felt sorry for Cliff. The investigation destroyed his freshman season and significantly hurt his draft stock.

I hope he gets a chance, as I'm sure he was a top recruit coming out of HS for a reason.

[Kasey]

they say there is a lot of upside with Alexander. i don't know if we need another project big man. even if he ends up on the permanent roster, he probably will spend most of the season on the inactive list.

Pressey is decent, but i think Frazier will be better. i'd rather see Frazier get a chance to be the backup point guard. i'm more impressed with his upside.

[Nevadanut]

What are the chances that either of them are on the regular season roster?

[Yeseeka]

I don't think this means a lot. We didn't get better today. We'll see what happens during training camp.

[DiamondThief]

The more I think about this signing the more I do not like it. I think Frazier is already better than Pressey and I am not sure where Alexander fits in if we are going to give Vonleh a chance. This one just seems confusing to me.

[DiamondThief]

Jul 24, 2015 19:40:18 GMT -8 Nevadanut said:

What are the chances that either of them are on the regular season roster?

Probably one of them, but I doubt both.