The Portland Trail Blazers are still early on in their rebuild. They have flexibility in how they want to approach the draft, which is another way of saying Portland has many needs to fill. These five players are a wide range of prospects, from guards to centers, Freshmen to upperclassmen, and high floors to high ceilings. All these prospects would play a unique role in their rebuild while providing more lineup flexibility for head coach Chauncey Billups.
The 2024 NBA Draft class projects to be weak, with no consensus amongst scouts and analysts, making it especially difficult to tell who will be available for the Blazers at pick No. 14. It could end up being that the Blazers have only a few of these players left to select from at No. 14.
5. Zach Edey
NCAA's two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey projects to go between the late lottery and mid-to-late first round in most mock drafts. During his Senior year at Purdue, the towering 7-foot-5 center averaged 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.2 blocks per game on an incredibly efficient 62.3 percent shooting from the field. The best player in college basketball has some question marks surrounding whether his game fits in with the modern-day NBA center, causing his draft stock to fall relative to his actual talent.
Some of his concerns include Edey's agility and capability to guard out on the perimeter. The NBA is all about spacing and taking advantage of mismatches. Edey can sometimes be a liability defensively, but what's getting underlooked is that there are few 7-foot-5 centers in the NBA with a 7-foot-11 wingspan that can match up with Edey in the paint.
Defensively, he should be an excellent rebounder and solid rim protector. Offensively, Edey can serve as a situational scorer in the post, and he has the potential to expand his arsenal as he continues developing a jump shot. In a draft full of prospects with glaring question marks, it makes sense to take someone who already has proven he is a talented player. Even if Edey plays in a limited capacity to spell Deandre Ayton, he could be effective in those minutes.
It would also give the Blazers insurance at the center position, given the uncertainty surrounding whether or not Ayton is their long-term answer and Robert Williams III's injury history.