When the news first broke of the Portland Trail Blazers making a salary-shedding deal that brought in Trevor Ariza, Caleb Swanigan, and Wenyen Gabriel, odds are many of us had the same initial reaction. Ariza’s no-flaw fit with nearly half of the NBA’s systems was inspiring, as was Swanigan’s return to Portland.
But presumably, for many of us, that left us with one question: who is Wenyen — or as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski initially announced, Wendell — Gabriel, and how does he fit into what Portland’s plans? Was he merely a throw-in?