The 2017 NBA Draft would prove to be a pivotal moment for the direction of the Portland Trail Blazers franchise as a whole, did they make the most of it?
Armed with the No. 15, 20 and 26 picks heading into the 2017 NBA Draft, the Portland Trail Blazers had a real opportunity to pull off a big move to change the franchise’s direction. And pulled off a big move, they did indeed.
Portland swapped their No. 15 and 20 picks to jump up five spots and take the draft rights to Zach Collins, the promising big man that helped propel Gonzaga to the national championship game against North Carolina. Collins’ versatility and upside was seen as a smarter investment than anything they would have gotten with their current picks.
Considering the defunct duo of Justin Jackson and Harry Giles are all they gave up to secure Collins, it seems they made the smart move. They selected Caleb Swanigan with the No. 26 pick, who was ironically enough also eventually traded to the Kings. The Blazers received Skal Labissiere in return, another trade where Portland seems to have received the better end of the stick.
But did they really?
Let’s take a little deeper look back at how the 2017 draft shook out. Donovan Mitchell and Bam Adebayo went No. 13 and 14 respectively, both having seen run time on the Team USA national squad this summer. The Blazers could have easily negotiated themselves into a spot where they could take the draft rights of either player.
If they pushed their luck a little further (and perhaps included the No. 26 pick), Portland may have been able to jump even higher in the draft. Lauri Markkanen fell all the way to No. 7 and at the time was considered a reach; he could likely have been negotiated for if an attractive enough package was presented before Chicago as a third member of the Jimmy Butler trade.
But for the most part, those things were out of Portland’s control. There’s no telling if the Blazers ever made offers for these players or not, or if the other parties were interested in negotiating. What is a little more egregious, is all the talent the Blazers missed out on later in the draft.
Take a look at some of the players they missed out on after their first pick.
- John Collins, No. 19
- Jarrett Allen, No. 22
- OG Anunoby, No. 23
- Kyle Kuzma, No. 27
- Josh Hart, No. 30
- Thomas Bryant, No. 42
- Monte Morris, No. 51
There’s an alternate reality where the Blazers’ young core features the likes of John Collins, Jarrett Allen and Kyle Kuzma all on the same team. They not only had the picks to make that happen, but all players fell directly within range of where Portland’s picks were. Of course, this is all easy to say in hindsight, but the fact this hypothetical roster fell so close to being within the realm of believability is what makes it sting even more.
Instead, the Blazers will be banking on Zach Collins to reach his full potential and play a key featured role on next year’s team. If he can pull that off, maybe the fantasies of what could have been will die down. But if he doesn’t, the Blazers may collapse without his consistent production, making him yet another grim reminder of a draft day blunder in this franchise’s history.
Until then, I’m choosing to put my faith in Zach.