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Portland Trail Blazers rookies Jake Layman and Tim Quarterman may not have imagined they would be spending part of their first NBA winter in Hoffman Estates, Illinois - a suburb about 25 miles outside of Chicago. But after being assigned to the D-League Windy City Bulls last month, the young players are embracing the opportunity to earn valuable playing time.
The Bulls’ home arena, Sears Centre, seats 10,000 people, about half of the Moda Center’s capacity. Today, however, the team faced off against the Long Island Nets in front of a mere 249 fans at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The Blazer duo didn’t let the lack of attention get in the way of putting together an impressive combined performance on Wednesday afternoon.
Still under contract with the Trail Blazers, and playing with the D-League Bulls under the NBA’s Flexible Assignment Rule, the two combined for 35 points, and recorded over 30 minutes of playing time each. Fansided’s D-League guru, Chris Reichert, broke down their impressive day:
Blazers assignee Jake Layman posted 23 points (9-17 FGs) and 6 boards for Windy City #NBADL
— Chris Reichert (@Chris_Reichert) February 1, 2017
Blazers assignee Tim Quarterman posted 12 points (6-13 FGs), 8 assists and 5 rebounds for Windy City #NBADL
— Chris Reichert (@Chris_Reichert) February 1, 2017
Layman, the 47th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft out of Maryland, is averaging 17 points and 8 rebounds in three games (all starts) for the Bulls. Quarterman, an undrafted rookie out of LSU, is in his second stint with the Bulls this season. In four total games (also all starts) with the Bulls he is averaging 12.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 7 assists in a little over 31 minutes per contest.
It’s worth noting that former Trail Blazer Cliff Alexander plays for the Long Island Nets, though he did not appear in the game today. He has played 22 games in the D-League this season for the Erie BayHawks, averaging 12 points and 8 rebounds.
Fans interested in watching Layman and Quarterman in action with Windy City can catch any of their games streaming on Facebook Live. The Bulls next play Friday, February 3rd at 4:00 p.m. PT, against the Westchester Knicks in White Plains, New York.