Trail Blazers: Breaking down a decade of draft history

2017

Picks

• No. 10: Zach Collins
• No. 26: Caleb Swanigan

!!!!!

Finally. It’s the Zach Collins draft. Portland traded picks 15 and 20 with Sacramento to secure No. 10, and I thank them everyday.

No. 15 turned into Justin Jackson, whilst Harry Giles went at No. 20; both look solid players, but the Blazers definitely did the right thing. It didn’t look it at first, but Collins’ sophomore year proved his potential.

Collins initially struggled in his rookie year, and casual whispers of ‘bust’ were heard around the league. However, Collins eventually came into his own, and looked much more confident in year two.

Collins came off the a talented bench in his second year in Portland, and offered defensive capabilities behind Jusuf Nurkic and Al-Faroq Aminu. Is regular season was good, but his postseason was even better, as he showed out on the national stage, particularly against the Warriors (despite the sweep).

We all knew about his defensive potential, but at the beginning of the 19/20 season, which saw Collins shift into a starting role, Portland began to see what he could do on the offensive end. In particular, the mid-range jumper looked much improved, and Collins just seemed a lot more comfortable putting the ball in the basket.

Once he puts the dislocated shoulder behind him, Collins will no doubt continue improving, and seems to have the support of the franchise to become the new long-term power forward. I see this one working out very, very well.

Verdict: Hit

I had high hopes for Caleb ‘Biggie’ Swanigan, and was seriously rooting for him. Following his first NBA Summer League outing in 2017, it looked as though the Blazers had uncovered a gem, as he averaged 16 and 10, and helped Portland along to the championship game.

However, that’s about as good as it got for Swanigan in a Blazers jersey. He flitted between the Blazers and G-League assignments in his rookie year, but failed to make a genuine impact on either team.

His college and summer league highlights suggested he had a real role to play in Portland’s future front-court, but Swanigan has just not been able to get it going. As a result of this, time ran out for Biggie in Portland.

In February 2019, Biggie was traded to the Sacramento Kings for Skal Labissiere, a move that is looking like a shrewd bit of business on Portland’s end, as Skal as played extremely well this season. For Swanigan, it meant much of the same.

He has played just games for Sacramento since joining, and December 18th, he was sent down to the G-League to join the Stockton Kings. For a player that is just 22, I don’t want to call him a bust just yet, but it isn’t looking promising for the young big man.

Verdict: Miss

What If’s?

2017 proved to be another interesting draft, and more potential near misses for Portland, despite the smart move of trading up for Collins.

For instance, the Blazers took Collins with the tenth pick, something I most definitely call a ‘hit’. But, Bam Adebayo did go at No. 14. Adebayo has experienced a tremendous career arc, and is now looking like an All-Star in just his third season in the league. Donovan Mitchell also went at No. 13, but this is unrealistic as Portland would never have been looking for a guard.

The other one that springs out is Kyle Kuzma, who went at No. 27, just one spot after the Blazers took Swanigan. Sure, Kuzma is now getting a fair bit of criticism on social media, but he averaged almost 19 points in his second year last season! Kuzma, despite some minor flaws that don’t fit into the current Laker system, would currently be making a huge impact for Portland if they had drafted him, and would have filled a lot of holes, especially considering the fact they took Swanigan instead.