Livingston To Portland?

At present, former Clippers point guard Shaun Livingston remains unsigned.  But rumor has it that won't be for much longer, and there's a new suitor in the picture.

As reported Saturday by Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski:

Free-agent guard Shaun Livingston, fighting back from a devastating knee injury, had private workouts with the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves in the past 48 hours and league sources expect him to sign with one of three teams next week.

Livingston worked out in Portland on Friday, and two league sources believed the Blazers are the favorites to sign the ex-Los Angeles Clippers guard. Still, it is unclear whether Portland general manager Kevin Pritchard has been convinced enough to add yet another guaranteed contract to his roster.

This looks to be a better move for the Blazers than it would be for Livingston.

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Granted, at this point, the former point guard of the future for the Clips should likely be taking any possible route he can back into the league.  But with three other point guards on the roster, he won't have as easy of an opportunity to get a shot at consistent minutes as he might in a place like Minnesota or Golden State.  But the Blazers would offer a very promising young team and a good group with which Livingston could grow.

As for Portland, it couldn't hurt to have a bit more potential on the roster, particularly at the point.  Jerryd Bayless is expected to be a big part of the future of the franchise, but he is reputed as a shoot-first combo guard.  Steve Blake still hasn't fully established himself as more than a journeyman and solid backup, and Sergio Rodriguez hasn't yet blown up the way the Blazers expected.  Having Livingston on the roster would provide one more competitor to push those three, and as we've mentioned in the past, buying low could turn into an incredible investment on this kid if he comes back healthy.