3 positives, 2 negatives to Blazers landing third pick in NBA Draft Lottery

Negative No. 2: Blazers remain in “no man’s land”

Although the Blazers will now have their choice of either Henderson or Miller, they still need help heading into the 2023 offseason.

While Henderson and Miller are highly intriguing prospects that could be stars of their own, Lillard has expressed his desire for the Portland front office to go into win-now mode and trade the pick for a veteran. So now, the Blazers will likely trade either Lillard or the No. 3 pick.

Another complication in this scenario is that the Charlotte Hornets landed the second overall pick. They already have All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball, which makes it more likely they will prefer Miller over Henderson.

Of course, teams at the top should go for the best available player because they typically have multiple flaws in the first place. But, if it’s close, Charlotte will likely lean toward the positional need in Miller.

Why does this complicate things for Portland?

Henderson is widely seen as a top-three pick. Point guard is one of the only positions Portland doesn’t need, as they already have Lillard and Anfernee Simons, so the pressure to trade the pick or Lillard will be even more intense if the first two picks are Wembanyama and Miller.

Positive No. 3: Blazers have enough assets to trade for co-star

The good news is that the third pick is a great asset in any potential trade package. As mentioned earlier, the third pick ends the consensus second tier of Miller and Henderson.

Teams intrigued by whichever player remains between the two could be willing to give up a lot more now that Portland has the third pick rather than their mystery first-round pick with the fifth-best odds. Now that there’s certainty around the selection and teams know that one of Miller or Henderson will be available, the pick gains more value in any potential trade.

A package of the third overall pick, Simons, possibly Shaedon Sharpe, and other future picks, would be enough assets to land a co-star to pair with Lillard.

Could a co-star like Karl-Anthony Towns be on the move to Portland? It seems more realistic now that there’s a concrete pick, especially since it’s guaranteed to land one of Miller or Henderson.