1 Prospect for every possible Portland Trail Blazers NBA Draft position

The pick at No. 10: G.G. Jackson, South Carolina Gamecocks

This would be a slot that the Blazers could look to trade out of as well. If they packaged the pick with either Simons or Sharpe, Portland could likely acquire a marquee star, but that would rob the team of an important potential x-factor player who could significantly raise the ceiling of the squad.

Instead, keeping the pick would indicate it was time to take a swing for the fences. While guards like Wallace, George, and Indiana’s Jalen Hood-Schifino are all lottery talents, none of them look like they’d be long-term fits for the current Portland roster.

There are few forwards left with some semblance of a star ceiling, and that’s where G.G. Jackson comes in.

If the Thompson twins were divisive, Jackson is civil war-inducing on draft Twitter. He’s one of the youngest players in the draft, and he showed the signs of being a plus shooter, on-ball creator, and athletic finisher.

That type of offensive prospect is rarely available at 10th overall:

He’s also a poor defender, has developed some bad habits with a long leash at South Carolina, and has a shockingly minuscule assist percentage. If he isn’t in the right developmental situation, Jackson could be a draft bust.

In Portland, Jackson could develop as an off-ball scorer, seeing his fair share of open shots and dunks off of Lillard’s passing. While he’d need to tighten up his fundamentals to stay on the floor, the right breaks could lead the Blazers to snag a slow-developing potential star that could give them a real co-star for Lillard during his twilight years.