Portland Trail Blazers: Breaking down the off-season, move by move

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CJ Elleby, Washington State Cougars (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images) /

Selected CJ Elleby out of Washington State with the 46th pick

With just a second-round pick to use after moving their first-rounder, Olshey used this to select ” green lantern ” CJ Elleby. In Olshey’s first 2021 press conference, he used the green lantern term to describe Elleby’s excellent analytical numbers.

A two year player in college, Elleby has a varied skillset on both ends of the court. He stands six-foot-six and has a six-foot-nine wingspan.

Though the Blazers don’t have time to develop an asset like a fringe lottery pick, using the 46th pick on a more mature prospect like Elleby makes sense.

In his time with Washington State, Elleby averaged 16.6 points a game and 7.5 rebounds on an excellent 36.7 percent from three.

He also had 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks. Elleby’s great volume of 5.4 three-pointers a game makes his efficiency of 36.7 percent from three even more impressive.

Not only was Elleby one of the best players at Washington State in a stacked PAC-12 conference, but he was also named to the PAC-12 All-1st team. His excellent defense and shot creation for others are what the Blazers loved about him.

Though Elleby will likely only play garbage time this year, or maybe not be part of the game-day squad at all, as he is a bit older and more polished as a prospect, he can likely hit the G-League right away to add to his game and get some professional experience.