This is part one of a two-part series on how lucking into Victor Wembanyama would impact the Portland Trail Blazers, now and in the future.
Damian Lillard has expressed his desire for the Blazers’ front office to trade its first-round pick for an established veteran who “moves the needle.” The only exception to this is if Portland lands the first overall pick and selects Victor Wembanyama.
Pressure has been put on Portland’s front office to either build a contender around Dame or rebuild around its younger assets. But the 7-foot-2 unicorn is the only player in the draft capable of executing both options simultaneously.
Here’s how Portland’s offseason might play out if it ends up with the No. 1 overall pick and select Wembanyama.
The “Wembanyama Sweepstakes”
The 2023 NBA Draft Lottery will be held on Tuesday, May 16, at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Another term used for this year’s lottery is the “Wembanyama Sweepstakes.”
Victor Wembanyama is a 19-year-old from France who plays professionally for Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92. He is a 7-foot-2 generational prospect widely expected to be the first overall pick.
One bright spot from the Trail Blazers’ disappointing 33-49 season is that they now have the fifth-best lottery odds. That equates to a 10.5 percent chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick.
The possibility of ending up with a prospect like Wembanyama likely played a considerable role in the Blazers’ decision to shut down Damian Lillard and tank at the end of the season. It’s a draft loaded with potential star talent at the top.
May 16 will be a pivotal moment for Blazers fans and the organization. Former Blazers All-Star guard Brandon Roy will represent the team at the lottery. Roy was Portland’s lottery rep last time the franchise landed the No. 1 overall pick – they had the sixth-best odds that year.
The Blazers haven’t had much luck as a franchise. They’ve dealt with many unfortunate injuries to star players throughout the years, including Roy. Also, Lillard has been incredibly loyal to the organization and deserves to get rewarded with some good fortune.
It’s time the “Basketball Gods” decide to be on Portland’s side.
How Blazers’ free agents would mesh with Wembanyama
Jerami Grant is an unrestricted free agent; it could make sense for the Blazers to pair him with Wembanyama as the two starting forwards.
Grant isn’t a great rebounder – he averaged 4.5 rebounds last season. As a result, his more natural position may be small forward rather than the power forward position he’s typically played for the Blazers.
Grant is 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan, so the Blazers would finally have excellent length on the wings to help out their smaller guards on defense.
Wembanyama is 230 pounds and likely still needs time to put on more muscle to be a true center in the NBA.
However, with him and Grant, head coach Chauncey Billups would have a lot of flexibility. Billups could play them at the four and five positions in particular matchups where the other team doesn’t have a dominant center.
Restricted free agents Matisse Thybulle and Cam Reddish would complement Wembanyama well, too, and it makes sense to bring them back in this scenario. With Thybulle and Wembanyama, Portland would have two candidates for NBA All-Defensive teams (even in Wembanyama’s rookie year).
Reddish is only 23 years old and is a good scorer off the bench. He would fit in nicely with the Blazers’ new timeline with Wembanyama. Reddish is also 6-7 and would contribute to Portland’s length on the wings.
Trendon Watford is a solid big to bring off the bench as someone that can do a little bit of everything up front. The Blazers should bring him back on his two-year team option, regardless of what happens in the lottery.
Trade the Knicks pick to Chicago?
The 2023 NBA Draft takes place on Thursday, June 22.
The Blazers would still have the Knicks’ first-round pick to make a potential trade. One option would be to send this pick to the Chicago Bulls.
Portland still owes the Bulls a lottery-protected first-round pick from the Larry Nance Jr. trade. By sending this pick to the Bulls, the Blazers would set themselves up for the future. They would own all their upcoming draft picks, giving them much more flexibility to make a later deal.
Wembanyama would give Portland the ability to be more patient. They don’t have to make an “all-in” move and sacrifice their future to contend with Lillard. They’d be able to contend while still retaining their young assets, who they can continue to develop.
In addition, the issue of having two smaller guards in Lillard and Anfernee Simons that are defensive liabilities becomes much less of a problem with someone like Wembanyama to clean up the mess.
In this scenario, the best route might be drafting Wembanyama and trading the Knicks’ pick to Chicago. Then, the Blazers would have a fresh start going into next season with the most coveted prospect since LeBron James already on the roster.
What would Wembanyama bring to Blazers next season?
This year in the LNB Pro A league in France, Wembanyama is averaging 21.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 3.1 blocks on 47/29/84 shooting splits.
He’s still raw at 19 but should be an immediate starter and someone that will positively impact games in the NBA, particularly on the defensive end, where Victor is an excellent shot blocker, rebounder, and help defender.
As mentioned, his skill set would fit in perfectly in Portland. In addition, his length, athleticism, and versatility on defense would help tremendously. The trio of Lillard, Simons, and center Jusuf Nurkic has been troublesome defensively. Lillard and Simons are too undersized together. Nurkic struggled as a rim protector and as a big switching out on the perimeter last season.
The pick-and-roll-heavy NBA exploits defensive weaknesses constantly, and the Blazers have a ton of vulnerabilities. Wembanyama is only one person, but he can cover a ton of ground and should immediately help the Blazers on the defensive end.
Offensively, you can tell he’s already an elite shot creator. He casually shoots one-legged three-point floaters?
He moves and handles the ball well for his size and possesses a virtually unguardable shot with his length.
However, Wembanyama has too tiny of a frame to be a go-to post-up player immediately. He also could be a better 3-point shooter as he’s connected on just 29 percent of his threes this season. These are two areas that Wembanyama will improve upon as he continues to develop.
Wembanyama likely won’t be ready to be relied on as Portland’s go-to scorer this upcoming season, but he doesn’t need to be with Lillard.
It’s easy to see how Wembanyama would play alongside Lillard and Simons in pick-and-roll situations. Wemby could impact pick and rolls in all three aspects – as a roller, a popper, and the ball handler. He’s talented and versatile enough to do almost anything on the court, which would allow Billups to get creative utilizing him on both ends.
With his height and talent, the Portland pick-and-roll would be extremely challenging to guard. Most guards won’t be able to hold their own on a switch, but if you fight through the screen, you risk leaving Lillard or Simons open. It’s an ideal pick-your-poison scenario that would be incredibly difficult to defend.
Trail Blazers’ potential 2023-24 depth chart with Wembanyama
The Blazers’ roster might look like this:
PG: Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons, Skylar Mays
SG: Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, Cam Reddish
SF: Jerami Grant, Matisse Thybulle, Cam Reddish
PF: Victor Wembanyama, Nassir Little, Trendon Watford
C: Jusuf Nurkic, Drew Eubanks, Trendon Watford
This roster seems much more well-balanced with Wembanyama. A two-way big is precisely what Portland is missing, so he would slide in nicely as the starting four.
The Blazers’ weaknesses last season were primarily on the defensive end – their lack of size, rim protection, rebounding, and versatility. Wembanyama would change the team’s identity on day one, drastically improving their weaknesses.