While some other NBA fanbases are focused on playoff seeding, Portland fans are beginning to lock in on the latest Trail Blazers mock drafts. Soon, it will be that time of the season when veterans miss games with "back soreness" and players like Delano Banton average 25 minutes a night so the front office can "see what they have."
To that end, here's an assembly of the latest mock drafts from ESPN, The Athletic and Yahoo! Sports, each of which have a different prospect heading to Portland with the No. 5 pick. They also include what direction the Blazers may go in with the Golden State Warriors' pick and both second-rounders.
Portland Trail Blazers 2024 NBA Mock draft roundup
The Athletic (Feb. 20)
No. 5: Stephon Castle, G, UConn
The Blazers already have a glut of guards with Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe, but they don't have one like Stephon Castle.
The Connecticut freshman is 6-foot-6 and may end up as more of a playmaking wing than a guard, but right now he's getting most of his minutes in the backcourt for the best college basketball team in America. Despite being the second-ranked combo guard in the class of 2023 by 247Sports, it took Castle a minute to grab hold of a starting job for the Huskies; but since doing so, he's been invaluable.
The 19-year-old isn't scoring 25 points a game or dishing out 12 assists a night, but he does a little bit of everything and he does it all at a high level. Since the start of January, Castle has averaged 12.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists while committing only 1.6 turnovers. He's also grabbing almost a steal a game. (It's important to remember he's a freshman on a team that's 24-3 and starts two fifth-year seniors and another projected lottery pick.)
The biggest question mark with Castle is his jumper, but he's shooting 50 percent from the floor and 44 percent from three in his last eight games. It's easy to see him fill Malcolm Brogdon's minutes and play a similar role but do it as a player with a much higher upside who fits Portland's rebuild.
No. 13: Johnny Furphy, F, Kansas
Johnny Furphy has quickly risen from an unknown to a likely one-and-done player since becoming a starter for the Jayhawks, and like Castle, is a key contributor on one of the best teams in the country.
Furphy is a 6-foot-9 wing who, since becoming a full-time starter on Jan. 13, is averaging 13.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals with shooting splits of 54/41/76. He's an underrated athlete and a good rebounder who can grab a board and lead the fast break, but he's also capable of knocking down shots in the half-court. He's a multipositional defender on the other end.
Teams might have to be patient with a prospect who will be going from a pure upside swing playing in Australia to an NBA rookie in only two years, but Furphy's combination of size, athleticism, shooting and defensive versatility are worth betting on late in the lottery.
No. 34: P.J. Hall, C, Clemson
We covered Hall more in-depth in this piece. He's a productive college player and one of the best big men in the ACC who could develop into a stretch five who can protect the rim and punish smaller defenders on switches.
No. 40: Baylor Scheierman, F, Creighton
Scheierman is almost an older, more established version of Furphy. He's a 6-6 wing who's a career 39 percent shooter from three, but he's a more well-rounded player who's spent a lot of time as a stretch four in college. He's averaging 18.4 ppg, 8.7 rpg and 4.1 apg this season with the Bluejays.
Blazers 2024 NBA mock draft selections: ESPN
No. 5: Cody Williams, F, Colorado
Cody is the younger brother of Oklahoma City Thunder star Jaylin Williams, but Cody was a much more highly-rated prospect coming out of high school and has played like it with the Buffaloes. He's averaging 14.2 points and 1.6 stocks (steals plus blocks), showing potential as a versatile defender and wing scorer.
His shooting remains a question, but at 6-foot-8 with real ballhandling ability, Williams finds ways to get to the rim and finish or find an open teammate. He's a skilled and willing passer who, at least at this stage of his development, plays more like a point forward than a pure scorer.
No. 17 (as of Feb. 22 the Warriors' pick is No. 13): Devin Carter, G, Providence
Devin Carter has broken out as one of the best two-way guards in the NCAA this year. The junior is in his second season in the Big East and is posting averages of 19.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.6 steals. He plays bigger than his listed height of 6-foot-3 and is simply a nuisance on defense.
He's an aggressive, gritty, dive-for-loose-balls type of player, and his 3-point shooting has jumped from 30 percent on 3.5 attempts a game last year to 40.5 this year on 6.5 attempts. He's a three-and-D guard - a rarer archetype than the three-and-D wing - but he's been a star at it this year.
No. 34: Dillon Jones, F, Weber State
Shoutout to Damian Lillard's alma mater. Jones is another 6-6 wing and, like Furphy and Scheierman, does more than just score. The 22-year-old is averaging a double-double this year with the Wildcats (19.0 points, 10.0 rebounds).
He's also averaging 5.0 apg and a whopping 4.0 steals while shooting 35 percent from deep. He's a small-school player putting up high-major numbers.
No. 40: Keshad Johnson, PF, Arizona
Johnson is a 6-foot-7 combo forward averaging 11.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and nearly a steal per game in his senior season with the Wildcats. He's an older prospect, but he's shooting 37.1 percent from three, and with his size and experience playing for one of the best programs in the country, could slot in as a possible three-and-D role player as a rookie.
Blazers 2024 NBA mock draft selections: Yahoo!Sports
No. 5: Ja'Kobe Walter, G, Baylor
Krysten Peek is taking more of a best-player-available and high-upside approach with Ja'Kobe Walter, but there's always a spot in the NBA for players who can get buckets. As a 6-foot-5 guard, he may seem redundant in Portland, but he shows glimpses of a legitimate go-to scorer and knockdown shooter.
He's eclipsed the 20-point mark seven times this year as a freshman with the Bears and can get threes up with the best of them. He's only shooting 32.3 percent from deep for the season, but he's had nine games in which he's made three or more from behind the arc.
No. 13: Yves Missi, C, Baylor
The Blazers elect to grab Walter's fellow Baylor freshman with the Golden State pick. Like Hall, we covered Missi more closely here, but the 19-year-old is a strong 7-foot, 235-pound big man who's already an advanced pick-and-roll lob threat and shot blocker.
He plays like DeAndre Jordan during his Lob City years right now, which would be an ideal fit alongside Henderson and Simons, but he's beginning to show flashes of more offensive skill. If he develops further on that end, he could look more like Bam Adebayo than Jordan.