Portland Trail Blazers: Three trades to move up in the 2020 NBA Draft

Portland Trail Blazers trade Zach Collins to move up to the seventh pick in NBA draft

Zach Collins would again be the main piece in this trade to move up from the 16th pick to the 7th pick. The Detroit Pistons would receive Collins and move down from 7 to 16.

For Detroit, they would get a big man to be part of the next competitive Pistons team. With longtime center Andre Drummond now in Cleveland, they need to load up on a defensive cornerstone.

They have cap space, so could absorb Collins straight into this. As specified above, Collins may be unable to play a significant role in the Blazers right away as he develops on both ends of the court, but he is a different possibility for the Pistons. His offensive skill could develop on a different timeline, and he could play 30 – 35 minutes a night without the pressure of being on a contending team or coming off the bench.

The Blazers would then use the 7th pick to select Deni Avdija out of Israel.

Avdija is a 19-year-old forward out of Israel who can play make and defend. He moves well in the open court and uses his size and excellent court vision to set his teammates up with an array of passes. He can operate in the pick and roll also.

His shooting is a work on, but he is up to 33 percent on the latest stats from Maccabi Tel Aviv. His free throw shooting in the 50s though, is concerning, even if it’s on low volume. If he can get to around league averages with these marks, he could be a game-changing forward in the NBA.

As a defender, his strength is definitely as a help-side guy. He rotates well to protect the rim or jump passing lanes with his eye for the ball. His man defense will need work at the next level, but he has good size at six-foot-nine, and it looks his body will fill out well with NBA conditioning.

All three of these trades are significant changes from the Blazers’ current strategy. By going away from two guys they have drafted recently and taking new rookies instead, they are changing the direction of the team. But what is needed more at the moment, is help in the forward department.

The three prospects above could solve this.