How many rounds are in the NBA draft?
The NBA draft is a critical - perhaps the most critical - tool that rebuilding franchises have. But that importance is not limited to teams picking in the lottery. Championship contenders have found key role players in the back half of the first round or the second. Christian Braun and Peyton Watson are playing major playoff minutes for the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets, for instance.
But tanking teams are especially needy when it comes to the draft. They exist every year, and those teams won't get back into title contention without hitting on the majority of their picks. That's where the Trail Blazers find themselves right now - in that critical stage between tanking and contending.
There are only a certain number of draft selections to go around. But exactly how many rounds?
There are 2 rounds in the NBA Draft
The league has 30 teams and each team gets two draft picks. Not all teams possess two selections every season, but that's how the number of picks is determined. Thirty teams times two picks equal 60 selections, which equals two rounds in the draft.
The 2024 draft has a few wrinkles to it, however. For the first time, the two rounds will be spread across two nights. The first round will take place on Wednesday, June 26 and the second the following night.
And there are only 58 selections in 2024 as opposed to the normal 60. The Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers were each docked a second-round pick for breaking league rules.
Where do the Trail Blazers pick in each round?
With four picks in the 2024 NBA Draft, Portland General Manager Joe Cronin has a chance to accelerate his squad's rebuild, but not every team is so lucky.
The Blazers' first two picks are still up in the air. Their own selection has the fourth-best odds at landing first overall and a 50 percent chance of being in the top four. Their second first-round pick comes via the Golden State Warriors (barring a draft lottery miracle) and will land somewhere in the late lottery.
One of their two second-round selections isn't set in stone either. Portland owns pick No. 40 for certain and will have either the 33rd or 34th pick.
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The Blazers already have one of the youngest rosters in the NBA; adding four more rookies doesn't make much sense. We'll see what Cronin decides to do with his extra picks at some point leading up to round one or round two in late June.