The Portland Trail Blazers are in danger of missing the playoffs for the second straight year and having another lottery pick to add to their roster. Last year’s seventh overall pick, Shaedon Sharpe, has shown promise, but there are zero guarantees he becomes a star. Portland needs more talent around Damian Lillard, and grabbing a difference-maker in the draft could be what gets Portland back to the playoffs in 2024.
The Blazers’ track record has been better in recent years, but historically they have struggled mightily to find talent. Portland signed ESPN’s Mike Schmitz as their assistant general manager because of his draft knowledge as the Blazers look to get an edge in that area.
Credit to the Trail Blazers for drafting Damian Lillard, Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, CJ McCollum, and others. When Portland has hit, it has usually been massive, but there are plenty of busts too. Here is a look at their all-time draft bust starting five.
PG: Sebastian Telfair
The Blazers had just missed the playoffs for the first time since 1982 when they drafted Telfair 13th overall in 2004. Portland was heading into a rebuild and searching for talent. Telfair was an extremely hyped prospect that went directly from high school to the NBA. He was most compared to his cousin Stephon Marbury, who was a two-time All-Star and perennial 20-point per-game scorer.
Telfair never lived up to the hype. He spent two years in Portland as primarily the backup point guard where he shot under 40 percent from the field and averaged just 8.1 points and 3.5 assists per game. The six-footer was traded to Boston in 2006 with Theo Ratliff and a second-round pick for Raef LaFrentz, Randy Foye, and Dan Dickau.
Telfair played a decade in the NBA for eight different teams, mostly as a reserve guard. He averaged just 7.4 points and 3.5 assists in 21.5 minutes per game.
Portland passed on drafting Jameer Nelson, Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, J.R. Smith, Tony Allen, and Kevin Martin to select Telfair. The teenage point guard had the most potential, and the Blazers took a shot on the star talent, but it never panned out.
SG: Martell Webster
One year later, the Blazers selected Martell Webster with the sixth overall pick in the 2005 draft. The 6’5 wing also came right out of high school, and Portland was hoping that he would form a dynamic backcourt duo with Sebastian Telfair, but things did not quite work out.
Webster was a part-time starter during his five years in Portland where he averaged 8.5 points and 3.1 rebounds in 23.2 minutes per game. Those are solid numbers for a backup wing, but he far from lived up to the hype of the sixth overall pick. Webster was an above-league-average 3-point shooter that could not lock down consistent starter minutes.
The 6’7 wing was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2010 for Luke Babbitt and Ryan Gomes. Webster struggled to stay in the lineup during his two seasons in Minnesota before having two strong years in Washington. Then, the injuries virtually ended his NBA career before Webster’s 30th birthday.
The 2005 NBA Draft was not a banner year for talent. The Blazers passed on drafting Danny Granger, Monta Ellis, and Lou Williams to select Webster, but this year’s class was chalked full of busts, including six of the 14 lottery picks playing eight or fewer seasons in the NBA with four providing less than 4.0 win shares for their careers.
SF: Wally Walker
There were only 17 teams in the NBA back in 1976, and the draft consisted of ten rounds. It was a different time, and there was a significantly higher bust rate among draft prospects. Still, the Blazers selected fifth as they had yet to break through and make the playoffs in their first six years as a franchise, and took Walker, a 6’7 forward out of the University of Virginia.
Portland was hoping that he would blossom into a star, but he lasted just over one season with the Blazers. The Trail Blazers won the NBA championship during Walker’s rookie season, but he averaged fewer than ten minutes per game in both the regular season and playoffs. Just a few games into his second season, Walker was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics for two draft picks.
Walker went on to play eight years in the NBA where he averaged 7.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in just 18.0 minutes per game. The 6’7 forward never blossomed into a star, but he did spend 12 years as the Sonics’ general manager and president after hanging up his sneakers.
The Blazers passed on future Hall of Famers Adrian Dantley and Robert Parrish to select Walker with the fifth overall pick in 1976. Dantley played the same position and was a six-time All-Star and two-time scoring champ during his 15 seasons in the NBA. Portland won the championship in 1976, so they likely have zero regrets about the selection.
PF: LaRue Martin
The Blazers had the number one overall pick for the first time in 1972 after winning just 18 games in their second year as a franchise. Portland desperately needed an influx of talent, and the league was built around big men in those days, so they decided on Martin with the top selection.
The 6’11 big man averaged 18.2 points and 15.9 rebounds per game during his four years at Loyola University Chicago, and he went toe-to-toe in matchups with Bill Walton and Jim Chones during his college career. Portland was hoping he would transform into a dominant NBA big man, but he never found his footing in the league.
Martin played four years with the Blazers where he averaged just 5.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per game. The 6’11 big man never lived up to the hype of being the number-one overall pick, and he remains in the conversation for the biggest draft busts in league history.
Future Hall of Famers Bob McAdoo and Julius Erving were selected in the first round in 1972 with McAdoo going second overall. The five-time All-Star big man was named to the NBA 75 last year, and he should have been the Blazers’ top pick.
C: Greg Oden
The Blazers made another massive draft blunder when they drafted Greg Oden over Kevin Durant in 2007. Portland had the number-one pick for the fourth time in franchise history, and they were again searching for a superstar. Oden was ranked ahead of Durant coming out of high school in 2006 and was fresh off a dominant season at Ohio State where he averaged 15.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks per game. The 20-year-old had all the potential in the world, but it was never meant to be.
Oden missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury, and he played his final NBA game in 2014 just after his 26th birthday. The seven-footer could never stay healthy. He played just 105 total NBA games in three NBA seasons, despite being part of the league for seven years.
Oden was one of the biggest busts in NBA Draft history, but the Blazers had plenty of competition for this spot. They selected Sam Bowie second overall in 1984 ahead of Michael Jordan. Add in Martin, who slid down to power forward for this exercise, and the Blazers have struggled to draft big men.
Will Damian Lillard will the Portland Trail Blazers to the playoffs this season? If not, will they find a difference-maker in the lottery or another candidate for their all-time draft bust starting five? Stay tuned to find out.