Today is the day of the 2015 NBA Draft Lottery (5:30 p.m. PDT, ESPN) and the Portland Trail Blazers will have no part in it. Every team that had the misfortune of missing the NBA Playoffs will be represented as they cross their fingers and hope for the best. While possibly disappointing that the Trail Blazers finished their season with a thud and have no lottery pick to show for it, Portland is still sitting pretty with the 23rd pick of the first round. If that doesn’t excite you at least a little, it should.
Late first-rounders are sometimes seen as the middle children of the NBA Draft. They are not projected to make immediate waves like the big brother lottery picks, and their contracts afford less wiggle room than the little brother second-rounders because they must be fully guaranteed. In spite of this, they can make for incredibly solid additions, generally after a year or two of settling in.
Take a look at players drafted in the 20-25 range as recently as 2012 and 2013. Not all have made names for themselves right out of the gate, but several have begun to do so. Those listed with asterisks are already becoming valuable contributors on their respective teams:
2012 draftees
20. Evan Fournier* (ORL)
21. Jared Sullinger* (BOS)
22. Fab Melo (N/A)
23. John Jenkins (ATL)
24. Jared Cunningham (N/A)
25. Tony Wroten* (PHI)
2013 draftees
20. Tony Snell* (CHI)
21. Gorgui Dieng* (MIN)
22. Mason Plumlee* (BKN)
23. Solomon Hill (IND)
24. Tim Hardaway Jr.* (NYK)
25. Reggie Bullock (PHX)
It is worth noting that players drafted even later have exploded as well, including Golden State’s Draymond Green (drafted 35th in 2012) and Utah’s Rudy Gobert (drafted 27th in 2013).
Even the Trail Blazers’ current roster is ripe with players that came from humble draft standing. If you really stop to think about it, only two of the present day starters were lottery picks in their time. The entire roster breaks down thusly:
2. LaMarcus Aldridge, 2006
6. Damian Lillard, 2012
6. Chris Kaman, 2003
10. C.J. McCollum, 2013
11. Meyers Leonard, 2012
15. Robin Lopez, 2008
19. Dorell Wright, 2004
25. Nicolas Batum, 2008
27. Arron Afflalo, 2007
30. Joel Freeland, 2006
31. Allen Crabbe, 2013
38. Steve Blake, 2003
(Undrafted) Wesley Matthews, 2009
(Undrafted) Alonzo Gee, 2009
(Undrafted) Tim Frazier, 2014
Guys like Matthews and Batum are cornerstones of this Trail Blazers team, as was Blake once upon a time. All of them were drafted (or in Matthews’ case, not drafted at all) after the 23rd selection, which belongs to Portland this year.
Admittedly, the deeper into the draft you go, the less likely you are to find usable talent, but this squad is already a testament to the potential value of 20-plus-ers. It is time for the Trail Blazers to start looking at which 2015 prospect in that range will best fit their team for years to come.
There are plenty of talented players anticipated to be available when the Trail Blazers make their selection. There is Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell with his brute strength, UNLV’s Christian Wood with his ability to cover the court, and Justin Anderson with his 3-and-D potential—among others.
If the Trail Blazers do their homework, they could end up with a legitimate steal at 23rd. So do not waste energy lamenting the Trail Blazers middle ground occupation. Their 2014-15 misadventure has led them to a surprisingly favorable position. The right player could be part of the team’s future foundation.
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