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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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Montero tries to find his footing in NBA, America

By , Columbian Trail Blazers Writer
Published:

TUALATIN, Ore. — Who is Luis Montero?

It’s a question that many have asked about the Portland Trail Blazers mystery man, who seemingly dropped out of the sky and onto their training camp roster.

But at least one person with the Blazers was familiar with Montero before. That was his former Boston high school foe Noah Vonleh.

“Luis, that’s like my little brother,” Vonleh said. “Me and him joke around, we call each other son.”

“I get along with everyone well, thankfully, but the friendliest guy has been Noah Vonleh,” Montero said. “He’s been like a brother to me.”

“It’s just good having him here,” Vonleh, who is also new to the team, said. “He’s trying to make the team and I’m here to help him out, I’m in his ear and he’s going hard every day. We’ll see what happens.”

After practice, the pair can be found working on their games or looking at practice film on a laptop with assistant coach Dale Osbourne.

The two will go to the mall, check out a movie or go to the Nike store.

But as Vonleh alluded to, it’s clear that their situations are very different.

Although the current structure of the roster and the fact the Blazers bought into him so early in the summer bodes well for Montero, his spot isn’t guaranteed.

In his first action in Monday’s preseason game, he caught the ball and shot a 3-pointer, which went in, only to have it waived off because he stepped out of bounds.

Montero is a project in the truest sense of the word. He moved from his native Dominican Republic to the United States at age 19.

Montero didn’t play organized basketball last season after a transcript scandal shuttered the program at Boston-area Westchester Community College, where he played.

He was playing in pick-up games in the Dyckman Park basketball league in New York just a few weeks before he was signed to the Blazers summer league team and, shortly after that, a training camp contract.

Still, Montero is living at the hotel near the practice facility.

And after he’s done putting in extra work after practice, he’ll walk back to his temporary home, which he hopes to move out of if he makes the Blazers.

He dabbles in Latin music during his walks to the hotel, but prefers American rap artists like Drake and Meek Mill.

The learning curve, given the cultural and language barriers, the skill level jump from Community College to the NBA and the nature of learning the NBA game is a tough one to deal with.

Stotts hasn’t seen anyone have to go through so many obstacles to assimilating to the NBA before in his NBA coaching career, which spans over two decades.

“He’s had a lot more things to adjust to than anybody else,” Stotts said. “You look at, those three things, the language, the culture and just the talent level from last year to this year. Somebody will have one or two of those things but it’s hard to have all three of those.”

Montero says that every day with the Blazers he feels more comfortable with the system, picking up on the terminology, the NBA game and guarding players who are bigger, faster and stronger.

“He’s really learning the game. I think he’s gotten better certainly from Summer League,” Stotts said. “Understanding what we’re looking for. He understands the team play, not just relying on his talent or what he’s been doing in the past. ”

“Everything is moving in a positive direction,” Montero said. “I feel a difference in my game. I know how to get myself in the right positions, I’ve made a lot of progress.”

“It’s a lot being thrown at him,” said Damian Lillard. “Just the fact that he’s not getting frustrated and he’ll listen and you can tell when somebody says something to him, he goes out there and he tries to get it right.”

The learning curve is steep, filled with obstacles and Montero has slipped and fallen a few times. But what has encouraged his teammates is that 6-foot-7 guard with long arms is that he keeps on getting up.

Time will tell if that stick-to-itiveness will result in a roster spot.

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Columbian Trail Blazers Writer