Portland Trail Blazers not involved in NBA Draft Lottery, will have 16th pick

Thankfully, the Portland Trail Blazers have made the NBA Playoffs, thus avoiding Thursday’s NBA Draft Lottery. They will have the 16th pick in the 2020 draft.

For the seventh straight season, the Portland Trail Blazers have made the NBA Playoffs, thus avoiding the Draft Lottery. This season, they finished with the second-worst record of the playoff teams, just ahead of the Orlando Magic. This will leave the Blazers with the 16th pick in the first round and the 46th pick in the second round.

Experts have dubbed this a weak draft, meaning the Blazers sit in a nice position with number 16. A top-five pick may not wield the same strength that it does in most years. And with the potential of no Draft Combine or team workouts, the top picks are riskier than before as teams may not be able to see prospects in person. Pick 16 is a good place to be; value could be had at that position as the lottery isn’t looking overly strong.

The Blazers most significant need as they look forward to the 2020 draft, is forward depth. They have substantial guard depth now with Gary Trent Jr. and Anfernee Simons backing up Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.

But, with only one true small forward on the roster in the thirty-five-year-old Trevor Ariza, this should be the first area that is addressed. This draft is projected to be heavy on point guards in the first round, and then there are a large number of bigs expected to be drafted in the second round.

The Blazers haven’t had their own second-round pick since 2013. Though this is only the 46th pick and teams don’t always get value in that range, getting someone on a cheap rookie deal who can sit on the end of the bench will be valuable in a market where the salary cap could be lower this year.

We would much rather be in the playoffs than the lottery, but it isn’t too early to start casting our eye over draft prospects for the 16th pick.