With the 26th pick in the 2017 NBA Redraft, the Portland Trail Blazers select Terrance Ferguson. Ferguson is a wing project who has a mix of size and skill.
Along with FanSided, Rip City Project re-drafted the 2017 NBA draft. With the number 26 pick, the Portland Trail Blazers select Terrance Ferguson.
In this re-draft the Blazers had the 15th, 20th and 26th picks. We selected Dillon Brooks with the 15th pick, Monte Morris with the 20th pick and now Ferguson with the 26th.
In the original draft, the Blazers traded the 15th and 20th picks for Zach Collins at 10, while also selecting Caleb Swanigan at 26. For the re-draft there will be no trades, we ran with just selecting the best fits at these positions.
As reflected in the earlier picks, the Blazers at the time of this draft were short on size and shooting. They have great shooters in Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum but both of these guys are small guards.
They have Anfernee Simons who is primarily a one way guy and then the developing Gary Trent Jr who is a two-way dude. Though it may seem like we are using this draft to just get guards, the pick of Swanigan was a waste and the Blazers are better to take a backup one, two and three in this draft.
Morris as the backup point, Ferguson as the backup two and then Brooks as the backup three. Even if Trent has been progressing nicely, it’s always best to pick the best player on the board and then work things out later.
In the six-foot-six Ferguson they have a great two / three combo who is athletic and can guard multiple positions, while still only being 21 years old in 2020.
Ferguson, like projected number one pick in 2020 LaMelo Ball, played down under in Australia instead of in college. He was then taken by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 21st pick.
Ferguson is more of a long-term project than the other players, but his career rate of 34 percent from three is a good starting point, while his two point percentage of 58 is very strong too.
Ferguson has a lean body but a long frame with a six-foot-nine wing span. It has been tough for him on the Thunder as he came into a playoff team and needed to contribute right away. This year after Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came in via trade his minutes went down significantly.
On the 2017/18 Blazers team though, Ferguson wouldn’t have to start, and he could ease into a nice bench role as he developed.
He can guard ones and twos, and some threes, while he is athletic enough to be a great finisher and a potential shot blocking threat as he matures physically and improves his basketball IQ.
After the flurry of overpaying a bunch of role players in 2016, Neil Olshey ended up parting ways with all of these players by 2020. Now that we know the wing cupboard is looking bare of young players, the 2017 draft would have been a great time to fill up and prepare for the future.
There isn’t a lot of value to be had at the 26th pick usually, so getting Ferguson is a coup.