Here’s a round-up of what the latest mock drafts are projecting for the Portland Trail Blazers.
As college basketball nears the end of its regular season, we are getting a clearer sense of which prospects are likely to be NBA players come the summer of 2019. With that, NBA mock drafts are becoming more and more relevant.
ThePortland Trail Blazers will have one selection in the upcoming draft in the first round.
This week, a handful of analysts posted their latest NBA mock drafts for 2019. Here’s what some of them are projecting for the Blazers with their pick of the 2019 draft:
Bleacher Report: Tre Jones, PG Duke
Bleacher report’s projection is a head-scratcher. Portland has their franchise point guard in Damian Lillard, but they still project Tre Jones from Duke to be the Blazers selection.
Here’s what they had to say about Jones potential fit in Portland.
"“Portland is a strong fit for Jones, who could focus on his strengths as a passer and defensive stopper behind Damian Lillard. He’s the only player in the country averaging at least 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals and fewer than 1.5 turnovers per game. Though a limited scorer and athlete, he possesses the basketball IQ and toughness to carve out a similar role and career to those of Monte Morris or Fred VanVleet—valued NBA backups who were two of the 11 college players to previously match Jones’ two-way playmaking numbers and efficiency.”"
This makes the argument for the Blazers to go point guard much more compelling. Portland could use Jones off the bench to provide quality defense in a tight game.
They could also move him off the ball in the future and use him as a Marcus Smart or Avery Bradley type as a defensive standout.
Though the Blazers biggest need is not a point guard, having a defensive guard to pair with two offensive-minded ones in Lillard and CJ McCollum is not a bad idea.
ESPN: Kevin Poter, SG USC
In many mock drafts throughout the year, Kevin Porter has been a lottery pick. In ESPN’s latest mock draft, NBA draft analyst Jonathan Givony had Porter falling out of the lottery and into Portland’s lap at 20th overall.
Porter has dealt with the injury bug during his freshman year at USC but still displays the tools of a first-round draft choice.
He is a bigger guard at 6’6″ who, when healthy, can play at a high level at both ends of the floor. His biggest strength is his three-point shot. Porter is shooting the three at an incredible .405 clip this season. The Blazers are already stacked with shooters but having another come off the bench to pair with Lillard and McCollum can’t hurt.
The biggest problem with a potential Porter pick is his off the court issues. Porter as of now is suspended due to personal conduct issues. If the Blazers were to select Porter they surely will have a lot of homework to do to assure they could keep him on the floor.
Basketball Insiders: Kris Wilkes, SF UCLA
The last mock draft to take a look at was conducted by Basketball Insiders.
In their latest mock, they project Portland selecting Kris Wilkes from UCLA with the 21st overall pick. Wilkes appears to be the best fit of the three mock drafts as the Blazers have a clear need for a small forward.
Wilkes is having a monster season for the Bruins. He is averaging 17.4 points per game, grabbing 4.6 rebounds and averaging near two assists per game.
Unlike Jones and Porter who are both true freshmen, Wilkes has more college experience as a sophomore thus, he will be more developed and less raw of a prospect.If the Blazers select Wilkes he would bring a player that they could import into the starting line up in year one or still use off the bench.
If the Blazers select Wilkes he would bring a player that they could import into the starting line up in year one or still use off the bench.