Ranking best fits for Trail Blazers with third pick in 2023 NBA Draft

As the dust settled, the loud rumbling you may have heard around the Pacific Northwest was the collective roar of the Portland Trail Blazers fan base after being awarded the third overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Now that the team is in possession of a top draft pick, it’s time to figure out which draft prospect would be the best fit for the team.

Rumors have already sprung up that the Blazers will look to trade this pick in a package to bring an All-Star-caliber player to Portland to pair with Damian Lillard. Still, conflicting reports have also emerged that the team would be happy to stick with the third pick and take the best player available.

If Portland decides to keep the draft pick, either because the trade options other teams are throwing out are insufficient or because the front office falls in love with a particular prospect, here are the six players that would be best fits for the Blazers from both a value and roster construction perspective.

No. 6: Amen Thompson, Overtime Elite

On a number of draft boards, Amen Thompson ranks as a top-tier lottery prospect. He has some of the best athletic tools in the draft class, makes some of the spiciest passing reads while going full speed, and has enough upside for teams to reasonably talk themselves into him becoming an All-Star- or All-NBA-level player.

So why is he arguably the worst fit for the Blazers at this pick?

It comes down to his fit with the roster – even if more moves are made before the end of the offseason. Thompson’s strengths as a player are all accentuated by being a lead ball-handler, while his weakness as a shooter can be more heavily exploited if confined to an off-ball role:

On a Blazers team that, barring a trade, would trot out a starting lineup of Lillard, Anfernee Simons, Thompson, Jerami Grant, and Jusuf Nurkic, Thompson would be forced out of the necessary ball-handling roles he needs for his development and would be a negative floor spacer for a team that desperately needs more shooting.

Thus, unless a major change in personnel is on the horizon for the Blazers to open up minutes and touches for Thompson at the lead guard position, it’s hard to see him as the best fit for Portland to contend in the short-term or long-term with how its team is currently constructed.

No. 5: Ausar Thompson, Overtime Elite

Ausar and Amen Thompson have often been conflated as similar prospects throughout the draft process. That’s far from the case, as Amen is more of a lead ball-handler while Ausar has developed his wing skillset. So, while athletically they are almost identical players, their games are quite varied.

Ausar isn’t a plus shooter yet either, but he’s turned himself into a good cutter, wing defender, and transition threat, which makes him a more natural fit with the Trail Blazers. There’s still room for him to grow into a bigger role if he can tighten up his handle, but even now, he has more of what the Blazers are looking for than Amen:

Whether Ausar can turn his shot around is the ultimate X-factor of his development. There are some recent clips that seem to speak to time spent in the gym paying off, but until he is showing off a new shooting form or putting up consistent numbers from deep, he should still be considered a project player.

It wouldn’t be a perfect fit with Lillard and the current core for Portland, but pairing Ausar Thompson with Shaedon Sharpe would give the Blazers the most athletic and exciting wing duo that the NBA has seen since the Boston Celtics initially paired Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in back-to-back drafts.

No. 4: Scoot Henderson, G League Ignite

There’s no question in many minds that Scoot Henderson is the second-most talented player in the 2023 draft class. If Victor Wembanyama wasn’t available this year, it’s likely that teams would’ve been tanking for Scoot instead of for Wembanyama.

Henderson is the prototypical point guard prospect from any angle that you could consider. He plays at his own pace and can control the game and its tempo, he is one of the best athletes in the draft class, and Henderson is one of the best passers that has come into the NBA in the past few years:

The issue with Scoot to the Blazers rests in the positional value and fit concerns. With Lillard, Simons, and Sharpe all on the roster, Henderson would see a crowded field of players ahead of him in the minutes and scoring pecking order, which would be a hindrance to his development.

If Portland decides to move on from Simons, head coach Chauncey Billups could play Henderson next to Lillard. In the unlikely scenario that Lillard is traded, Henderson would also be a wonderful fit on the Blazers.

But as long as the team is trying to make the playoffs, it would do well to tread the line between best player available and a premier fit.

No. 3: Cam Whitmore, Villanova

When it comes to the third overall pick in the draft, a question of value starts to come into play. With such a high draft pick in a top-heavy draft, it’s worth considering whether another team will pay a premium price to move up to take a player, a move that could really work out for Portland if they zero in on a less-heralded prospect.

If they really think they have their guy, however, staying at third and selecting that player is a less risky strategy. While most draft boards are a bit more all over the place on where Cam Whitmore belongs in the grand scheme of prospect rankings, most place him as a mid-lottery talent:

He worked through an early injury at Villanova and was playing on the team during a down year, but even with these issues, Whitmore was able to shred rims with dunks, make smart cuts from the wing, and flash enough ball-handling upside that makes him a potential future All-Star.

Whitmore would have the ideal situation to start to develop into that type of player if drafted by Portland, as he would not be the focus of opposing defenses and would also get a chance to play off an elite point guard in Lillard.

No. 2: Jarace Walker, Houston

Along the same lines as Whitmore, if there is a prospect that Portland has fallen in love with and doesn’t want to risk losing in a trade down, taking them with the third overall pick could be controversial but ultimately the right move.

By traditional expectations, Jarace Walker doesn’t seem like he should be a star. He wasn’t the leading scorer for the Houston Cougars, instead serving as a defensive stopper and connective wing-forward for the team. Even without the gaudy scoring stats, however, Walker showed enough that consideration at No. 3 isn’t unwarranted:

Outside of Wembanyama, there isn’t a more impactful defender in this draft class. Walker is a lockdown perimeter defender, a phenomenal athlete, and a good enough shot-blocker to slide down to small-ball center in a pinch.

Adding Walker to the current Blazers core is one of the best ways for the team to get more of a defensive identity. While there isn’t a single player in the NBA that could transform Portland into a defensively-dominant team, drafting Walker would give the team its first positive defender that can also have a positive impact on the offense.

No. 1: Brandon Miller, Alabama

If the Blazers are able to re-sign Grant, they’ll have four of their starting spots lined up: Lillard at point guard, either Sharpe or Simons at shooting guard, Grant at power forward, and Nurkic at center. That leaves a gaping hole at small forward that the team unsuccessfully tried to fill at the deadline with a bevy of veteran players.

For the team to seriously upgrade and make its wing weakness a strength, it would be best suited to find a player who can stripe shots from deep, create offense for himself, play within the flow of the offense, and hold his own on defense:

That describes Brandon Miller perfectly. He’s one of the best shooters in the draft class, has a crafty handle that helps him create jumpers or rim attempts for him in the half court, can succeed off of the ball, and is a solid enough wing defender that he won’t be a sieve on that end.

For a Blazers team that wants to win now, there may not be a more pro-ready player to take than Miller. He would give the team’s offense a significant boost while also not taking away anything on defense, which makes him the perfect piece for the team to snag on their quest to making it back to the playoffs with Lillard.