The Portland Trail Blazers were active during the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft. Before the draft, they acquired Deni Avdija from the Washington Wizards in exchange for Malcolm Brogdon, the No. 14 pick (turned into Carlton Carrington), a 2029 first-round pick, and two second-round picks. About two hours later, they added UConn center and back-to-back NCAA national champion Donovan Clingan, selecting him No. 7 overall.
Despite giving up a lot of trade assets for Avdija, it's overall a successful first day for the Blazers' draft. They managed to get under the luxury tax while adding critical pieces to their rebuild. Here is what next season's starting lineup and depth chart could potentially look like following Portland's acquisitions:
Trail Blazers' updated depth chart for 2024-25 NBA season
PG: Scoot Henderson | Anfernee Simons | Shaedon Sharpe
SG: Anfernee Simons | Shaedon Sharpe | Matisse Thybulle
SF: Deni Avdija | Shaedon Sharpe | Matisse Thybulle | Toumani Camara
PF: Jerami Grant | Deni Avdija | Toumani Camara | Jabari Walker
C: Deandre Ayton | Donovan Clingan | Robert Williams III | Duop Reath
It's challenging to predict who the starting lineup will be, as Portland has seven or eight capable starters following their recent acquisitions. It's an excellent problem, especially since most of their core is 25 years or younger. If anything, the main concern is that they are now not bad enough to contend for a top lottery pick to secure a coveted prospect in 2025, Duke's Cooper Flagg.
Regardless, it's a great position to be in. Moving Brogdon also solved their backcourt logjam, for the most part. But, if they don't move Jerami Grant, one of Henderson, Simons, Sharpe, or Avdija will have to sit, which isn't ideal when rebuilding a roster and trying to maximize their young core. Joe Cronin mentions how the Blazers are in the process of stockpiling assets this early on in their rebuild, and rightfully so.
Cronin notes that the Blazers are still in "talent acquisition mode" so who is playing in front/alongside/behind isn't something the team is especially concerned with at this point.
— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) June 27, 2024
Given the Blazers' current status in their rebuild, stockpiling young assets in both the draft selection of Clingan and the trade for Avdija made a ton of sense. It was a lot of assets to give up for Avdija, but he's still only 23 years old and on an extremely team-friendly contract. Much more could change between now and the opening tip of the 2024-25 NBA season for the Blazers, but their rebuilding path has become much more straightforward, even if their starting lineup is more complicated.