Back in 2021, the Blazers acquired Larry Nance Jr. from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Derrick Jones Jr. and a lottery-protected future pick. This move froze the Blazers’ future assets for trades until the pick was conveyed. When the Blazers made the playoffs, the 15th pick then changed ownership to Chicago, entirely removing Portland’s name from the 2026 NBA Draft.
New owner Tom Dundon will likely look to put his stamp on the first draft under his watch, and that usually means buying a pick in the second round through one of many avenues. If that option remains on the table, Portland should have a number of players on their radar as the team looks to build on its 2026 success. One such option is Cincinnati’s Baba Miller.
Blazers should target Baba Miller in the 2026 NBA Draft
While Miller doesn’t bring anything new to Portland’s table, he’s an exceptional reinforcement to the team’s dominant player archetype: lengthy, toolsy wings that are defensive disruptors and transitional offensive threats.
Rip City Project’s Finn Kuehl talked to Miller about his favorite thing to do on the court:
Cincinnati’s Baba Miller is more than a dynamic transition athlete- he’s a dimer, too 🪙 pic.twitter.com/QZLRNFReKj
— Finn Kuehl (@finleykuehl) May 14, 2026
“A nice assist is . . . the most satisfying thing I can do on a basketball court,” said Miller. “Either that, or dunking on someone.”
This is sounding familiar, and indeed Miller’s points per possession are nearly identical to those of Blazers star Deni Avdija, though Deni’s transition game clearly edges Miller’s. Surprisingly, the same cannot be said of Avdija’s rookie season, as the statistical gap between rookie Avdija and Miller is roughly the same as the one between Miller and present-day Avdija.
Miller’s combine scrimmage numbers reflect his collegiate career arc—he has gotten better every year and led the entire Big 12 in rebounding last season. Across both combine scrimmage games, Miller averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and a steal per game on 53/43/91 shooting splits in just 21 minutes per contest. Miller’s biggest knocks in college concerned those splits, where he shot 19 percent from deep and 68 percent at the line. Miller attempted just 1.7 threes per night at Cincinnati and shot over triple that rate in the combine scrimmages—encouraging stuff.
While these combine scrimmage sample sizes are small, Miller’s performance is a fantastic response to yet another increased level of competition—battling a collection of hand-picked and equally hungry premier competitors from the NCAA system and beyond.
Baba tested quite well in the anthro measurements; he is even taller than his listed height at 6’10.5” barefoot with a 7’1.75” wingspan and tied for 4th in both hand measurements, all a testament to his defensive prowess. The rest of Miller’s combine stats were a mixed bag; while his leaping numbers weren’t exactly eye-popping, he finished in the top-10 in two agility drills of all participants. His shooting drill results weren’t particularly encouraging, making it doubly nice to see him can a few threes in the scrimmages.
Scooping Miller up in the second round would ensure Portland a deeper lineup, giving them added flexibility in almost any lineup, and would serve as phenomenal, inexpensive depth when Avdija will be in line for a substantial pay raise. Fortunately for us bargain shoppers, Miller’s draft age and unusual college path are the only things holding him out of the first round.
Savvy draftheads have been on the Baba Miller train for quite some time, even as his collegiate career has been a bit sinusoidal. Originally from Mallorca, Spain, Miller first committed to play for Florida State, but he was suspended when the NCAA discovered that he accepted $2,000 for a training camp invite two years before entering college. Since then, he’s bounced around to Florida Atlantic and, most recently, Cincinnati. While the Bearcats have not been a basketball powerhouse for some time, they faced some elite teams throughout the season as part of the Big 12, including teams such as Iowa State, Arizona, Houston, Kansas, and BYU.
The second round of the NBA Draft is scheduled for June 24.
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