It’s the middle of June, and the arrival of summer weather in the Pacific Northwest forebodes something massive coming to Rip City. Portland Trail Blazers fans have been anticipating the 2022 NBA Draft basically since Damian Lillard went under the knife, with a small reprieve when they drew just the seventh-overall pick in the lottery, and a huge burst in excitement after they acquired Jerami Grant for a package revolving around Milwaukee’s 2025 first-rounder.
Here’s what’s known so far, what’s needed on the Blazers’ end of things, and what could take place.
Portland has the seventh-overall pick as of now. With the addition of Jerami Grant now thrown into the formula, what’s their best route moving forward?
The next step of the Portland Trail Blazers offseason plans will be revealed on 2022 NBA Draft Day
Most people are expecting an announcement that the pick has been traded. But with the addition of Grant, is there still a need to trade it? The rumor mill is still churning even after the trade Wednesday. Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes reported that the Blazers and Kentucky’s Shaedon Sharpe could have significant mutual interest.
"“He worked out for the Trail Blazers (and the Pacers) and I believe he was supposed to work out for the Pelicans, but that workout was canceled. There’s people that believe he might have gotten a promise.”"
Despite the heat surrounding Sharpe and Dyson Daniels earlier in the pre-draft process, it could all be a smokescreen to disguise the Blazers’ true intent to move their pick for a more established talent, other draft compensation, or a combination of both.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have been rumored to have interest in trading up, bettering their chances to select Baylor’s Jeremy Sochan. A plausible package would revolve around their 12th-overall pick and Luguentz Dort.
Sending the seventh pick to OKC for Dort and the 12th-pick would frankly be a huge waste of a lottery pick in my humble opinion. Dort is still relatively an unknown player, and a player the Blazers do not need. He’s undersized for a wing defender, a deficit that could overcome his talent on that end of the court. His inefficiency as a scorer would also be a problematic fit next to Jerami Grant who’s essentially a bigger, more established version of the same player.
Grabbing another veteran player to move down the draft is a good idea in theory, but there are better deals than the one OKC has to offer. Perhaps Portland could land John Collins and the 16th selection from the Atlanta Hawks or Kelly Oubre and either their 13th or 15th pick from the Charlotte Hornets. Either player would be a better fit alongside Dame, Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, and Jusuf Nurkic.
Lastly, the Blazers could also use number seven in a package to land a significant talent to aid in their title chase next season. They’ve reportedly been in hot pursuit of the Toronto Raptors’ OG Anunoby and haven’t shown any signs of slowing down after acquiring Grant.
OG Anunoby trade rumors: Trail Blazers offering No. 7 pick in attempt to acquire Raptors forward, per reporthttps://t.co/QfxDYKLpnR
— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) June 23, 2022
The Trail Blazers have plenty of options heading into the 2022 NBA Draft, creating plenty of drama and intrigue for their fans. Tune in at 5 PM Pacific Time on ABC and ESPN tonight to find out the next step of the Blazers’ offseason plans.