Former Nebraska star NBA career extended with Portland Trail Blazers

When it comes to this week and the NBA, the Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball program got some good news, and some bad news. The bad news was that Keisei Tominaga didn’t get drafted after some reports thought he might end up going in the second round. The good news is that another former Huskers basketball star is going to see his NBA career last a bit longer.

Dalano Banton’s stay in Lincoln was short, but in that time he showed enough that he’s had a pretty decent professional career. And now he’s going to be able to stick with the Portland Trailblazers just a little bit longer.

The Portland Trail Blazers picked up Banton’s option, as reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Banton was a trade deadline pickup by Portland, and he received plenty of minutes to show how good his game is in the NBA.

Banton’s contract is not fully guaranteed. Only $217,000 is ensured, and if he makes the regular season roster, $1.1 million becomes guaranteed. If he plays through the NBA’s guarantee date in January, he’ll make just over $2 million. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent whenever this contract ends.

Ex-Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball star gets second chance to stick with Portland Trailblazers

Banton has been a bit up or down since making the jump from Nebraska to the NBA. However, he shone last season as he played in 30 games down the stretch for the injury-plagued Blazers. In those games, he averaged 16.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists. His season high came when he scored 31 points in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

The Canadian native was the 46th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft by his home country Toronto Raptors after spending two seasons and playing one after sitting out his first, with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He played in 27 games, starting 22, and averaged 9.6 points per contest while leading the Huskers in rebounds (5.9) and assists (3.9) per game.