The pick at No. 3: Amen Thompson, Overtime Elite
This will likely be the most controversial draft decision, but after the top two players in the 2023 NBA Draft, there’s no surefire prospect at third.
There are a handful of players like both of the Thompson twins, Amen and Ausar; Miller; and even Houston’s Jarace Walker, if you believe in his offensive ceiling.
What the Blazers should value if they leapfrog other teams in lottery positioning is a potential superstar. It’s exceedingly difficult to get those players outside of the draft, especially for a team in a smaller market like Portland, and the appeal of Henderson would be gone in this situation at pick No. 3.
A swing for the fences is the type of move that could be the difference between the Blazers becoming the sixth-best team in the reworked west or shocking the NBA world and contending for titles.
Although Miller is a stud, there’s only one other player in this draft class who has true superstar upside, and that’s Amen Thompson:
Jesus Amen Thompson pic.twitter.com/E5EKlYRR7J
— Pistons Draft Talk (@PDTScouting) February 22, 2023
Putting Shaedon Sharpe and Amen Thompson on the wing next to Lillard, especially after Sharpe’s stellar end to the season, would give Portland two potential star wings with creation skills.
While both players would need to work on their shooting, Lillard’s gravity as a deep threat is so heavy that he’d mitigate some of those issues and create a transition offense so deadly that it may set records for thunderous transition dunks in a season.