Just because the Blazers don’t have a pick in this year’s draft doesn’t mean that the door is shut on new talent acquisition. Undrafted players have carved out a solid niche in today’s NBA—Jose Alvarado is now an NBA champion. Austin Reaves, Naz Reid and Fred VanVleet all came into the league with the same means available to Portland in this year’s draft.
With a handful of Blazers entering free agency this year and Caleb Love a two-way promotion candidate, the Blazers will likely be bargain shopping after the 60th pick.
Here’s another slate of players the Blazers should take a long look at when the time comes.
Vsevolod Ishchenko, Wing, Lokomotiv Kuban
With so many European players opting into the NCAA system over playing overseas, the stock of intriguing late-round European flyers has been reduced to a shell of its former self. Enter Vsevolod Ishchenko, a Russian player currently playing well for Lokomotiv Kuban, a Russian team in the country’s VTB United League.
Ishchenko’s numbers have steadily improved since entering the Russian system, and just like Euroleague, VTB United’s playstyle is much more team-oriented than American counterparts, with the team’s leading scorer averaging just 14.5 points in 27 minutes.
At 6’8”, Ishchenko profiles as a three-level scorer that’s capable of a little bit of everything with per-36 averages of 13 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block per game with 51/45/78 shooting splits. While the VTB United league is somewhat comparable to NCAA-level competition, those numbers would be tough to ignore in a bona fide NCAA prospect.
Elias Ralph, Wing, Pacific
With just as unconventional a path as Ishchenko above, Pacific’s Elias Ralph has fought hard to get where he is. Ralph started his basketball trajectory playing for University of Victoria in Canada and winning three straight titles before transferring to Pacific University for two seasons.
While Canada’s U Sports program is a tier beneath NCAA Division I competition, Ralph improved every year in Canada and continued to improve at Pacific, averaging per-36 numbers of 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, with 47/41/86 shooting splits.
Unlike many undrafted free agents, Ralph’s game is shockingly well-rounded; he profiles as a plus defender that plays solid defense both on and off the ball and can reliably score at all three levels. The biggest question about Ralph’s game concerns the level of competition he faced, but he performed admirably when matched up against AJ Dybantsa and Allen Graves, two first-round talents.
Bryce Harris, Guard, Howard
It’s tough to look the other way on Bryce Harris, his team notwithstanding—guards who can give you a block per game in 32 minutes are highly coveted, especially when they shoot 39% from three. Harris also chips in over a steal per game, and neither is the result of defensive gambling; he’s a bulldog defender who is a sneaky good rebounder for a guard.
His game and numbers are eerily similar to Josh Hart—fantastic two-point percentage, a reliable shooter and a general “dirty work” player that everyone wants on their team.
Much like the other players on this list, the level of competition that Harris faced at Howard is certainly scrutable, but he showed up when it mattered, leading Howard to an NCAA tournament berth last year with a gritty win over UMBC and a good showing against eventual champions Michigan, where he dropped 21 points.
Normally, defensive-minded guards taken in the back half of the draft can’t shoot a lick, but Harris’s well-rounded game may entice the Blazers who need both shooting and defense.
Donovan Dent, Guard, UCLA
Let’s get one thing out of the way: Donovan Dent is a small guard, and he will likely get hunted on defense in the NBA. Thankfully, being taken as an undrafted free agent by a team with a solid guard rotation would give Dent the opportunity to dispel that profile and gain some equity as a playmaker and shotmaker.
Dent’s shooting percentages took a nosedive this year, but he’s just one year removed from leading the Mountain West Conference in points while shooting 49/41/78. While his shooting percentages dipped after transferring to UCLA, his assist numbers have increased every year and his turnovers have dropped dramatically.
Last season, Dent posted 7.8 assists per game with a stingy 1.8 turnovers. That’s a historic 4.33 ratio, practically unheard of in this or any college hoops season and by far the highest mark this season, even among the upper crust of the draft.
The second round of the NBA Draft is set to take place on June 24, and the undrafted shopping spree will commence just seconds afterward.
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