Re-drafting the 2015 NBA Draft
By John Buhler
This is very much a stretch, but if any 2015 second round pick deserves to come off the board first in this 2015 NBA re-draft, it is Norman Powell formerly of the UCLA Bruins. Powell demonstrated a ton of raw athleticism with the 2015-16 Raptors that essentially offset the lose of Lou Williams at the two-guard.
While Portland is heavily guard-centric under head coach Terry Stotts, why wouldn’t the Trail Blazers want to be potentially lethal in the back court all the time? Powell would provide a more physical nature to the Portland back court than the finesse players of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum could provide.
Yes, Portland does need to address some glaring front court issues if they want to become championship caliber in the Western Conference, but man does this team love to compete as is. Powell feels like a great off the bench energy guy.
He could theoretically play off either Allen Crabbe or Al-Farouq Aminu in Portland’s heavy motion-based offense. With already great ball handlers in place, Portland could conceivably decimate opponents with an up-tempo offense while they look to rebuild in the front court. Powell works in Toronto and could have probably worked with this group in Portland.
Next: 24. Cleveland Cavaliers