As of April 2, the Portland Trail Blazers are one game up on the Charlotte Hornets and San Antonio Spurs in the NBA standings. The injury-plagued squad in Rip City is on a 10-game losing streak, though, surpassing its longest of the season, while Victor Wembanyama single-handedly drags the Spurs to what could be crucial wins.
There are seven games left in the regular season. That's seven opportunities for the Trail Blazers to tank their way to the third-worst record in the league. Seven chances for Portland to give itself the best possible odds at earning the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
That's an important septuplet. (An "I can tank better than you" matchup with the Hornets awaits on April 3.) Nailing the draft is critical to a rebuild like Portland's, even in what's considered to be a weak class. The Milwaukee Bucks landed Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Utah Jazz got Rudy Gobert in the 2013 draft, which was widely considered a poor class, too.
Projecting potential Trail Blazers 2024 NBA Draft class
Using Tankathon to sim the draft lottery (while the Blazers still own the fifth-best odds at the top selection), all the end-of-season losing turns out to be for nothing as general manager Joe Cronin and Co. end up with the No. 7 pick.
Going off of that bad luck (when it rains it pours, right?), here's what Portland's potential 2024 NBA Draft could look like.