5 2023 NBA Draft prospects Portland should target with Knicks pick

The focus of the Portland Trail Blazers has turned completely to the offseason, which includes free agency and some monumental decisions to make for the team’s future. Included in those decisions is what to do with the New York Knicks’ draft pick Portland acquired and sits at No. 23 overall.

The pick stems from the midseason trade that sent Josh Hart to New York for Cam Reddish, Svi Mykhailiuk, Ryan Arcidiacono, and a lottery-protected pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Hart had been a consistent starter next to Damian Lillard, Jerami Grant, and Jusuf Nurkic, but as the team pivoted, he was sent to the Eastern Conference.

While Hart flourished for the Knicks as a spark-plug player, the Blazers floundered and missed the playoffs. The silver lining of these opposite pendulum swings is that Portland is now armed with a second pick in a potentially better-than-expected draft.

Given how much analysis has been done about the Blazers’ own pick, which will land high in the lottery, it’s worth digging into the types of late-round steals the team could get with the23rd pick in the NBA draft.

With a number of needs, there is a vast range of prospects that the team could pursue with this pick.

Knicks Pick Candidate #1: James Nnaji, Barcelona

One of the most significant issues the Portland Trail Blazers have had during Lillard’s career has been the lack of defense. The team has struggled due to personnel and injuries, but with Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic in the lineup, it’s hard to build the foundations of a competent defense that can even make it to the playoffs.

With Nurkic infinitely more replaceable than Lillard, the Blazers would do well this offseason to start looking for a player to replace him at center. While Victor Wembanyama would be the dream target, there’s no guarantee that the team will be able to skyrocket in the lottery and get the first overall pick.

Instead, looking for an underrated center project with the Knicks pick would suit the team better. There will be many flawed but high-upside centers to draft, but youngest, most athletic of them is James Nnaji.

Nnaji has spent a few years in the lower rungs of Barcelona’s men’s basketball team in Spain, but at just 18 years old, Nnaji has started to flash some tantalizing yet raw physical gifts. He only averages about 5 points and 4 rebounds a game, but that’s due to how difficult it is for younger players to play major Euroleague minutes, not his lack of talent:

By taking Nnaji, the Blazers would be committing to letting him develop slowly between the G-League and spot NBA minutes, hoping that he could eventually capitalize on his immense physical gifts and become one of the best rim-running two-way centers in the NBA.

Knicks Pick Candidate #2: Dereck Lively II, Duke

If the Blazers are looking for a center to replace Nurkic in the lineup, they’ll likely target one who can become a defensive anchor. While it’s hard to find players like that late in the first round, there is a player this year who slowly established that prospect profile over the course of the year.

Dereck Lively II came into the year as one of the more highly-ranked and decorated freshmen in the country. He was expected to be an instant difference-maker at Duke, and although he started at center, it took longer for Lively II to emerge as a defensive menace than many expected.

As the season wore on, Lively II settled into his starting center spot and started to use his prodigious length and timing to anchor the Duke defense. He had 8 blocks against North Carolina, 6 against Oral Roberts, 5 versus Miami in two separate games, and a number of 2- or 3-block games as well.

Given how hard it’s been for the Blazers to build a competent defense, having a prolific shot-blocker like Lively II would inspire fear in the hearts of opposing offenses and cause a positive ripple effect down the rest of the roster by having a back line like this:

Lively II would need some patience on the offensive end as he still is a timid finisher despite his physical gifts. If he can benefit from Lillard’s looks and start to establish himself as a lob threat, Lively II might just be able to turn around his career and look more and more like the surefire star he was in high school.

Knicks Pick Candidate #3: Jordan Walsh, Arkansas

Besides an eventual replacement for Nurkic in the middle, the Blazers are also in search of a cornerstone forward  they can build around for the future. The team acquired players like Reddish and Matisse Thybulle to help contend now, but outside of them and Grant, only Trendon Watford stands as a playable forward or wing for the team.

What would benefit Portland the most with the Knicks pick would be selecting a player who can be a true stopper on the wing. While Thybulle was meant to be that player, his lack of shooting is too solidified at this age to believe he can become a league-average sniper at any point in his career.

While it may seem paradoxical, selecting a similar player to Thybulle, such as Walsh, makes sense, especially because Walsh has slightly better physical tools and is much younger and more malleable than Thybulle.

Walsh was part of Arkansas’ sterling recruiting class that ultimately helped them get to the Sweet 16 this March. He wasn’t an offensive weapon, but he earned minutes with his outrageous length, great foot speed, and his ability to influence games with his dynamite perimeter defense:

It’ll take some time for Walsh to improve enough on offense to be a legitimate threat when he’s on the floor, but he’s a great low-risk, high-reward player due to his upside. With the right development and seasoning, Walsh could soon go from theoretically good to actually good on  both ends on the wing.

Knicks Pick Candidate #4: Rayan Rupert, New Zealand Breakers

If the Blazers want to take a developmental forward but don’t love the current crop of college prospects at that position, there are two players hooping overseas who may be better fits for the team’s timing and trajectory.

The first is Rayan Rupert, who is currently playing in the Australian NBL for the New Zealand Breakers. At just 18 years old, Rupert is one of the youngest and rawest forwards in the class, but he’s flashed enough as the season has progressed that taking a flier on him might be less risky than a player like Walsh.

Rupert is an unfinished product on the offensive end, with poor shooting numbers and a limited amount of creation tools at his disposal, but that hasn’t stopped him from earning playing time for his team. He’s earned his keep by smothering opponents with his wingspan, engulfing offenses with how he eats space, and finishing athletically in transition:

The Blazers have a great infrastructure for Rupert to develop his jumper, improve his ball-handling, and slowly work his way into a bigger role on the team. He has the frame and athleticism to be one of the most physically talented wings in the entire NBA, and although he may not get there, the Blazers could do much worse than taking a swing on a prospect like that.

Knicks Pick Candidate #5: Bilal Coulibaly, Metropolitans 92

While everyone’s eyes have been on Victor Wembanyama, Bilal Coulibaly has slowly been snatching those glances in his direction. As a player on the same team as Wembanyama, Coulibaly is naturally going to get noticed more, but he’s risen up draft boards in a way few could’ve predicted.

Coulibaly has split his time in the U-21 team and the senior team for Metropolitans 92 in France, which make his stats more nuanced to consider. At the younger level, Coulibaly dominated, putting up more than 20 points a game in a lead role.

For the senior team, he functions more as a spark plug of frenetic defensive and transition energy.

What makes Coulibaly so enticing is a similar story to both Walsh and Rupert: he’s an insanely athletic wing who has barely scratched the surface of what he could be on offense. He has an improving handle, but he hangs his hat on the defensive end, where his long reach and fast feet have bottled up players all year:

Drafting Coulibaly is not the sort of pick that would move the needle for Lillard, but it might be the kind of long-term vision that Portland General Manager Joe Cronin needs to rebuild the Blazers into a team that can contend in the West.

In a few years, after he’s had the chance to develop in an NBA framework and reach his sky-high ceiling, Coulibaly may be looked at as the biggest steal in the entire draft, which makes him a worthy selection with the Knicks pick.