Trail Blazers: Breaking down a decade of draft history

2011

Picks

• No. 21: Nolan Smith
• No. 51: Jon Diebler

Nolan Smith was drafted as a senior out of Duke, and was seen as Portland’s long-term solution at the point. However, the 2011 NBA lockout, and a rookie by the name of Damian Lillard, scuppered these plans.

The Blazers had signed Raymond Felton on a one-year deal, and Smith was to be given the role as the back-up point guard. However, due to the lockout, the season didn’t begin until December, and by this time, the Blazers had made the decision to ride out the remainder of the year with their veterans.

As head coach Nate McMillan was let go in March, Smith did see some more minutes late in the year, but any hope of finally settling in Portland was dashed by the 2012 draft. Long story short, Portland had No. 6, drafted Lillard and well, Lillard turned out to be pretty good.

Portland signing Ronnie Price in the summer of 2012 was the final straw. After some time with the Idaho Stampede of the D-League, and also the Celtics for a game in summer league, Smith eventually signed with Croatian team Cedevita Zagreb, where he turned into an overnight hero, after hitting a buzzer-beater in the semi-finals of the ABA League Final Four.

Smith spent the next few years in Europe or the summer league, going back and forth. In February 2016, Smith hung it up, and returned to Duke as a special assistant on the coaching staff.

Verdict: Miss

After being drafted by Portland at No. 51, Jon Diebler never actually stepped on the court for the Blazers.

The lockout was looming, and Portland decided to send Diebler overseas, to give him a good year of playing competitive basketball away from Ohio State. The plan was for Diebler to return after a year a more well-rounded player, ready to play a role in the Blazer rotation.

Half of this plan came through, but Diebler didn’t return. In the summer of 2012, the sharpshooter was involved in a three-team deal which saw him head to the Houston Rockets, and a month later, he had signed with Turkish club Pinar Karsiyaka, a place where he’d win the Turkish championship 2 years later.

Up until 2018, Diebler toured Turkey, playing for a number of different teams. He caused a social media storm in 2019 when his name was part of the Carmelo Anthony trade to the Bulls; Melo was still out of the game at this point, and NBA Twitter had a field day claiming Diebler was the superior player in this trade.

To this day, Diebler continues to play and compete in Turkey, now suiting up Darussafaka. In the Basketball Champions League, he averaged 11.5 points a game.

Verdict: Miss

What If’s?

2011 was a big-time ‘what if’ for the Trail Blazers.

At No. 30, personal favorite of mine Jimmy Butler was stolen by the Chicago Bulls. Had the Blazers picked up Butler here, their future would have looked extremely different. Had they managed to line him up with Lillard and Aldridge (unlikely, I know), the Blazers would have had a serious title contender.

Elsewhere, Bojan Bogdanovic went at No. 31, Davis Bertans at No. 42, and All-Star Isaiah Thomas went to the Sacramento Kings, all the way down at No. 60!