I’ve mentioned it before, but it bears repeating now that the situation has grown extremely dire: while it’s great that Jake “Timberjake” Layman is emerging as a good basketball player after two years of complete, total, bottom-of-the-barrel scrubdom, it’s not so great that his minutes directly come at the expense of Nik Stauskas’ minutes.
Stauskas didn’t even play in this game even though he’s fully healthy as far as I’m aware. He had to sit there on the bench and pretend to be happy (weak clapping while staring blankly into the distance is a good indicator of pretend happiness) while Layman caught lobs and hit threes and showcased his attractive haircut to female TV viewers all around the Phoenix and Portland metropolitan areas.
Don’t forget that Stauskas can do all those things too. He’s thrown down sick dunks in the past, maybe even sicker dunks than anything Layman’s thrown down. He can shoot threes (especially if he’s in Canada and it’s raining). He has a haircut that many women would admit is attractive. But he doesn’t get to play, and Layman does.
A trade might be in order. And when DTB thinks a trade is in order, you know what he’s going to suggest. That’s right! Stauskas for Thon Maker. Straight up. We get a better (or worse, or the same) Pat Connaughton, and the Blazers get a better (or worse, or the same) Meyers Leonard. Everybody wins. Or loses.