Tim Quarterman Earns Blazers’ Final Roster Spot

Rookie Tim Quarterman has beaten out Grant Jerrett and Greg Stiemsma for the Portland Trail Blazers’ final roster spot, tweets Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski:

The Trail Blazers later corroborated A. Woj’s tweet, officially reporting the roster cuts.

Quarterman’s salary this season is reportedly $543,471 and is only guaranteed for $75,000 until January 10, at which point it will become fully guaranteed, according to basketballinsiders.com. Stiemsma or Jerrett would have been paid $980,431 each this season if either had made Portland’s final cut, indicating the move may have been, for the most part, financially motivated for the Trail Blazers and President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey. That said, team chemistry could always be a factor, too.

Quarterman, 21, tallied three points, two rebounds and two assists in Portland’s final preseason game against the Warriors Friday night and appeared in only three preseason games for a total of 16 minutes.

After going undrafted out of Louisiana State last spring, Quarterman signed a Summer League contract with the Hornets, where he averaged 5.8 points per game in Orlando. In late July, he signed with the Trail Blazers and was, at the time, considered a long-shot to make the final roster — Stiemsma brought veteran experience, Jerret was a capable stretch-big and Luis Montero (who was waived last week) had familiarity with coach Terry Stotts’ system after a year on his bench.

Quarterman, who averaged 11.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting 41.5 percent last season as a junior with the LSU Tigers, stands at 6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, according to his DraftExpress profile.

Due to his length at the guard position, experts reason that Quartmerman could eventually become an impact defender. His pre-draft profile also indicates that he needs to work on his physical strength and will have to develop a more varied and reliable offensive skillset to stick in the NBA.