Allonzo Trier
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Weaknesses & Concerns:
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Profile:
- 22 year old, 6’5.25” guard from the University of Arizona
- 40” max vertical leap
- 5 star recruit and #18 on the ESPN 100 coming out of High School
Strengths:
Physical tools & athleticism
Allonzo Trier isn’t a freak when it comes to physical tools and athleticism, he’s more of an under-the-radar guy in this aspect. He has pretty decent size while measuring in at 6’5.25” and 198 pounds. His wingspan isn’t very impressive though (6’6.75”). Not many people talk about Trier’s athleticism because he isn’t as quick as other players, but he definitely is athletic. At the NBA Draft Combine, he had a max vertical leap of 40” and a standing vertical leap of 32”. These numbers were good enough to rank him in the top 10 in both of these categories. He actually has had several nice dunks on defenders throughout his college career and he’s very good at adjusting mid-air around the rim to finish layups. You can compare Trier’s combine measurements to a few other players’ measurements who have succeeded at the NBA level. One comparison is with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Caldwell-Pope came out of the combine measuring in at 6’5.5”, 203.6 pounds, with a wingspan of 6’8”. While he has a bit of a longer wingspan, they still have pretty similar measurements.
Scoring & shooting
Efficient Offense
Trier was one of the most efficient scorers in college basketball last year. Heading into the tournament, Trier was averaging 18.7 points per game on 66.7% true shooting. He finished the year averaging 18.1 points per game on 50% shooting and 38% from 3. He hit a huge slump in the last six games of the year (6-35 from 3, 17%), but this was right after some personal things came up so that might be a reason why. The fact that he ended the year 6-for-35 from deep and still ended the year shooting above average shows how great he was from distance this past year. Looking into some Synergy numbers, Trier’s six most frequent play types were Transition (26.5% of the time), Spot Up (25.5%), P&R Ball Handler (22.6%), Isolation (10.2%), and Off Screen (3.6%). That’s a total of 88.4% of his possessions and in each of the these categories, Trier ranked in the 75th percentile or better.
3 Level Scoring Upside
There aren’t many players who can score at all 3 levels (around the basket, mid-range, and from 3), but Trier is definitely one of them. Throughout his college career, he showed he was more than capable of scoring in any possible way. While he isn’t the quickest, he’s shifty and he is able to use his body and handles to get to the rim. In 50 possessions, Trier scored 1.4 PPP on shots around the basket (excluding post-ups), which ranked him in the 91st percentile. He also loves to force refs to call fouls that could put him at the free throw line where he shot 86.5% from the line this past year. He also has a pretty nice mid-range game and likes to use a step-back to create space and score from 15 feet out. Lastly, Trier is one of the better spot-up shooters in this class, although he doesn’t get as much credit as he should.
Attacking Off the Dribble
Mentioned a little earlier, Trier isn’t the quickest guy and won’t use his speed to get by many defenders. While that might scare some people away, Trier is really good with the ball in his hands and he’s quite shifty. The NBA is different than college, but he never had trouble getting to the rim in college because of his tight, shifty handles. He also uses his body very well when trying to attack off the dribble. He has defenders guessing a lot of the time because he has a very effective step-back which creates a lot of space.
Pick & Roll Offense
Trier was used as the P&R ball handler on 118 possessions over the course of the season. These possessions brought in 0.983 PPP, which would rank in the 90th percentile. Trier uses screens very well and likes to use his body to create space. The reason that he is so effective in the P&R is because he is a threat from distance if a defender goes under the screen, he can pull-up from mid-range if there is a drop coverage, or he can take you to the basket. He can score out of the P&R in so many ways. His passing isn’t bad in these situations, but it wouldn’t be considered a strength either.
Playmaking Upside
While Trier’s decision-making can be questionable at times, he has definitely shown flashes of creating for others. When the ball is in his hands, he attracts a lot of attention to him because of his scoring ability. If he can improve his decision making and passing, he could be a consistent playmaker at the next level. I talked about it in the last section, a lot of defenses have trouble guarding him in P&R situations. If he can improve his decision-making when attacking the basket, he’ll be able to create more open looks for his teammates.
Underrated On-Ball Defender
Trier doesn’t get nearly enough credit for his on-ball defense because his off-ball defense isn’t great. He has the reputation of being a bad defender, but if you’ve watched him play over the last couple of years, you can tell that his defense on the ball is underrated. Looking at some Synergy numbers, when Trier defended the ball handler in P&R situations, he gave up 0.75 PPP. This was good enough to rank him in the 53rd percentile, which is just about average. He ranked in the 71st percentile when defending spot-ups at 0.833 PPP on 84 possessions. Strictly looking at Trier defending in isolation, he gave up 0.7 PPP, which would rank him in the 64th percentile. While none of these numbers stand out as being amazing or a lock-down defender, this is enough to prove that he doesn’t get enough credit for his on-ball defense.
Weaknesses & Concerns:
Slow Release on his Shot
As mentioned earlier, Trier is one of the better shooters in this class. While NBA range is a bit deeper than college range, that isn’t a worry when it comes to his shot translating. Something that some people might worry about is his release being a little bit on the slower side. There were plenty of times this past season where he didn’t shoot an open 3 that most people would put up. He might be aware that his release is a little slower than others, so he makes sure he has enough room so nobody can contest his shot. While this isn’t a huge concern, hopefully he’s been able to work on it during the offseason.
Off Court Issues
One big concern that teams might have with Trier is his history off the court. He got suspended on two separate occasions for testing positive for PEDs, but eventually got cleared to play. This happened in both his Sophomore season and Junior season. It is interesting to see how teams will approach this because of the fact that he was cleared to play both times. It seemed like the NCAA handled the situation poorly, but it is definitely something to keep an eye on.
Passing
Not being a solid distributor shouldn’t hurt Trier’s chances of getting an opportunity, and succeeding, because his value comes from his ability to score the ball. If he can show that he is able to distribute and create for others, his value to a team is that much higher. Trier averaged 3.2 assists in 34.1 minutes per game. That isn’t necessarily bad, but it isn’t good either. As mentioned earlier, he has playmaking upside because of his ability to score and draw attention from the defense. If he can just show that he is an average to slightly above-average distributor, he will be that much more intriguing to teams.
Off-Ball Defense & Defensive IQ
Something that Trier will need to work on to see extended time on the floor is his off-ball defense. He tends to get lost when he’s defending someone without the ball and, that leads to easy backdoors or open shots for opposing teams. His defense, as a whole, isn’t bad because he’s an underrated on-ball defender, but he needs to improve on this end still. If he can improve his off-ball defense along with his defensive IQ, he could become a plus defender.
NBA Fit:
Position: 2 with spot minutes at the 3 in small ball lineups
Role: Scorer & spot-up shooter (likely off the bench)
Ideal team fit: Team w/ established primary offensive option in need of bench scoring
Draft Range:
It’s definitely possible that Trier doesn’t get drafted and is signed as an UDFA, but it is tough to dismiss someone who can score the ball like he can. While there are some fair concerns about his game, there aren’t many questions about his capability of putting the ball through the basket, and that should get him a good amount of looks on its own. If given the opportunity, there is a pretty decent chance that Trier will outperform his draft position (if drafted) or makes everyone question why he wasn’t drafted in the first place.
Projected Draft Range: 35-Undrafted
Extra Notes:
Trier is a very talented player. If he doesn't succeed in the NBA, it is most likely because of his off-the-court problems and his personality rather than it being because of his talent.
Trier is a very talented player. If he doesn't succeed in the NBA, it is most likely because of his off-the-court problems and his personality rather than it being because of his talent.
