Trail Blazers wing Didi Louzada has been listed as probable to debut for Portland on Wednesday when his new team faces his former team, the Pelicans, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN (via Twitter).
Yesterday, Portland revealed that big man Jusuf Nurkic and guards Eric Bledsoe and Anfernee Simons would join star point guard Damian Lillard on the shelf for the rest of the 2021/22 NBA season as the team looks towards the future.
Since being included in the blockbuster trade that sent shooting guard CJ McCollum to the Pelicans, Louzada has been recovering from a meniscus surgery he underwent while still with New Orleans.
The second-year wing has appeared in just two games during the 2021/22 season. He could get some extended time for a tanking 27-48 Trail Blazers club hopeful to avoid a play-in tournament appearance.
The 23-year-old has had a checkered NBA run thus far. Louzada was selected with the No. 35 pick in the 2019 draft by the Hawks, before having his draft rights traded to the Pelicans. He played with the Sydney Kings of Australia’s NBL from 2019-21, then signed a contract with the Pelicans late into the 2020/21 NBA season, and appeared in three contests for New Orleans that year.
The NBA dealt Louzada a 25-game suspension due to a drug policy violation at the start of the 2021/22 season. He tore his medial meniscus in late January while playing a game for the team’s G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron. The 6’5″ guard would eventually have a surgical procedure to treat the ailment in February.
Welcome to title town.
They don’t call it tanking any more, it’s “focusing on next season” or “not risking injury”. Maybe fans who bought tix expecting to see the stars should call it “fraud”.