Wenyen Gabriel was a throw-in when the Portland Trail Blazers traded Kent Bazemore for Trevor Ariza. The Sacramento Kings sent Gabriel and Caleb Swanigan; then the Blazers added some second-round picks.
Gabriel only played sparingly in the regular season before the NBA’s hiatus, and on the Kings, he was also only used in garbage time.
But, when Trevor Ariza made himself unavailable for the bubble, the Blazers needed to change their approach defensively. There were no other free agents available, so they had to use who they had on the roster.