Who's to say if Seth Curry has found a long-term home with the Trail Blazers? He's finishing out the first year of a two-year deal, with a player option this summer that he'll likely exercise. Maybe he re-signs with Portland, maybe he doesn't. Either way, one thing is for certain: Curry has found a home in the NBA, and he's going to be around for a long time. 

"Solid player," a Western Conference executive recently told CBS Sports. "Smart. Competitive. There's a lot to like about him."

Curry's numbers don't pop off the page by any stretch. He averaged 7.9 points per game this season. He's averaging less than that -- just 6.1 -- in the playoffs. Shooting, in keeping with the family business, is his hallmark skill. Believe it or not, Seth actually has a better career 3-point shooting percentage than his brother Stephen -- 43.9 to 43.6 percent. Seth shot 45 percent from 3 on 3.4 attempts a game this season, the third-highest mark in the league. For the playoffs, he's just under 44 percent from deep. 

"The shot was never really a question for me," a Western Conference scout told CBS Sports. "What you wondered about was could he get the shot off? Could he handle, make plays? I think you questioned the size as a wing, because he's not a point guard. Could he defend bigger guys? But give him credit. He's answered a lot of those questions, and he did it the hard way. That's a tough track, man, bouncing around training camps, not really sticking anywhere, up and down in the D-league. He's a competitor, that's for sure. He's definitely earned his way."

It took quite a journey for Curry to get here. Not heavily recruited out of high school, undrafted out of college, he's traveled the path of the 10-day contract, the Summer League hopeful, the D-League grinder with the superstar brother who was looking for an opportunity, any opportunity, to prove he belonged. On Jan. 5, 2014, Curry made his NBA debut with the Memphis Grizzlies, and then was waived the same night. The Warriors signed and waived him. The Cavs signed and waived him. The Magic signed and waived him. The Suns signed and waived him. He made just four NBA appearances in the first two years of his career. 

"That 2015 Summer League was the break he needed," another league scout told CBS Sports. "I don't want to say that's when he proved he was an NBA player. I think people knew he could play before that, but there were questions, and it's all about finding the right fit for those sort of, you know, on-the-fence type players. But he was really good in Vegas that year. You knew he was going to get a real shot after that."

Curry played with the New Orleans Pelicans that summer in Vegas. Darren Erman was his coach. Erman, currently an assistant with New Orleans who also coached Steph for three years on the Warriors staff, believed Seth was an NBA player long before others felt the same way. Erman believes talks of Curry's drastic improvement are exaggerated.

"It's not that he hasn't gotten better," Erman told CBS Sports. "But he's been better than people think all along."

From where Erman sat, Curry simply needed a platform to show what he could do. Erman gave it to him in Vegas. 

"I told him that summer, 'I'm going to put the ball in your hands so people can see you make plays,'" Erman said. "That was one of my goals that summer. I really wanted to make sure he had the opportunity to show he was an NBA player. And man, he played so well. And it wasn't just his shooting. In fact, if you look back at his numbers in Vegas, he actually shot pretty terrible from 3. He made his mark as a finisher. He was marvelous making plays and getting to the basket. That was something people didn't think he could do. 

"Seth is a guy that always wants to prove people wrong. Both those Curry brothers, man. People still make that mistake thinking they're like these nice guys or whatever, but they are ultra competitive. I think people have started to understand that about Steph, but Seth is the same way. He's going to compete. He has better feet than people think. He can slide and play defense. Just everything, you know? He's an NBA player. I'm happy everyone's seeing that now."

After that summer in Las Vegas, Curry got his first real shot in the NBA from the Sacramento Kings, who signed him to a two-year, $2 million deal, fully guaranteed. He then parlayed that into a two-year, $6 million deal with the Mavericks. Now here he is with Portland, a bargain at $2.8 million this season. 

"He's found a home recently with two more stable franchises in Dallas and Portland, which helps in the development of a player," an Eastern Conference scout told CBS Sports. "[It's allowed] him to be what he is, which is a shooter/scorer and not a lead guard. And the ability to make 3s will always find a place in the league."

Again, Curry can opt out of his deal this summer, and it's a credit to how well he's played, and how much value that has created for him on the open market, that Portland, a pretty financially strapped organization right now, might not be able to afford him. There are already reports the Pistons are eyeing him. 

For now, Curry is still focused on doing all he can to get the Blazers into the conference finals. Portland lost Game 5 on Tuesday night and now trails the Nuggets 3-2. Curry scored seven inconsequential points, all when the game was out of hand. He's now an integral enough piece that he's not safe from criticism. Portland's bench isn't giving them much. Curry's one of the few guys who can be a spark. He had 16 points with four 3-pointers in Game 4. Something close to that would go a long way in Portland's quest to push this series to seven. Maybe they make it happen, maybe they don't. Either way, Seth Curry is here to stay -- not because of his name, but because of his game.