Does Joe Ingles bring value beyond his expiring contract?: Trail Blazers season review, look ahead

Utah Jazz guard Joe Ingles, right, passes the ball over Portland Trail Blazers center Hassan Whiteside, center, and guard Damian Lillard during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Feb.1, 2020. (AP Photo/Steve Dykes) AP
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The Oregonian/OregonLive is taking a player-by-player look at the Portland Trail Blazers roster heading into the offseason.

Other posts: Justise Winslow; Trendon Watford; Greg Brown III; Keon Johnson; CJ Elleby; Brandon Williams; Ben McLemore; Drew Eubanks; Elijah Hughes; Keljin Blevins; DiDi Louzada; Joe Ingles; Eric Bledsoe; Reggie Perry; Kris Dunn.

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Today: Joe Ingles, 34, 6-8, forward.

Contract status: Unrestricted free agent who made $13 million last season. The Blazers inherited his Bird rights.

Likelihood to return: Slight, but possible.

2021-22 contributions: The Blazers acquired Ingles in a trade with Utah after he had already suffered a torn ACL that ended his season in January. Ingles averaged 7.2 points and 2.9 rebounds per game for the Jazz while shooting career lows from the field (40.4%) and on threes (34.7%) over 45 games.

Strengths/weaknesses: Ingles has long been positively regarded for his hard-nosed approach and shooting ability during his seven NBA seasons. The previous season he shot 48.9% from the field and 45.1% on threes. Ingles would certainly fit in with the culture the Blazers seek to create.

2022-23 outlook: Ingles won’t be ready for the start of the season and might not be healthy enough to return to action until next January.

So, retaining him wouldn’t make much sense unless the Blazers believe Ingles could contribute to a second-half run. In that case, coach Chauncey Billups would have to be OK with the fact that Ingles will turn 35 this year, is coming off of his worst shooting season ever, and recovering from an ACL injury that could sap some athleticism out of an already marginally athletic player.

However, Portland can re-sign Ingles while already being over the cap because of his Bird rights. Also, truth be told, the Blazers could do far worse with a player signed to the league minimum deal as were Ben McLemore and Cody Zeller last offseason.

One aspect of the team that Billups has wanted to fix is its low shot production on corner threes. Ingles has been a marksman from the corner. Portland shot 37.3% on corner threes (24th in the NBA). According to StatMuse.com, Ingles has shot 45.6% on threes from the right corner and 44.6% from the left corner for his career.

Plus, Ingles is a solid defender despite not being elite athletically. He posted a defensive rating of 103.7 last season and has never had a rating above 105.6 (2019-20).

-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).

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