NBA Draft 2017: 5 targets for the Portland Trail Blazers
With the NBA offseason officially underway, the NBA Draft is the first order of business. Let’s take a look at five targets for the Portland Trail Blazers.
The last time the Portland Trail Blazers were on the court, they were getting shellacked by the eventual champion, Golden State Warriors. Head coach Terry Stotts and the dynamic duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum probably looked over to the other bench and wanted to replicate it for years to come.
The Blazers are devoted to building around their young superstars for the future. The front office in Portland needs to be heavily invested in this NBA Draft, as they have three first-round picks. After wheeling and dealing, the Blazers find themselves with picks No. 15, 20 and 26 in the NBA Draft.
Portland will need to hit on those draft picks and hope they develop into important role players this season. They are salary-cap strapped and will need their rookies to become solid contributors on a nightly basis. There is also the concern that they may not have roster spots for all three of those rookies, so creating a deal for themselves to move up is a possibility.
So what should the Blazers even be addressing in the draft? Aside from their back-court and their big-men talent, there are a lot of holes in the roster that need to be filled. Looking up and down the Western Conference standings, the Blazers will need to add “3-and-D” players to counter-balance the effectiveness of wings like Kevin Durant or Kawhi Leonard.
The Blazers also desperately lack a tertiary playmaker who can relieve some pressure off of Lillard and McCollum. Defenses in the NBA Playoffs keyed in on those two and the other role players couldn’t make it happen for Portland. If they want to advance further than they did these past few years, they’ll need to add more ball-handlers — and maybe avoid Golden State for as long as possible.
Here are five targets that the Portland Trail Blazers should pursue in the NBA Draft.
5. Jordan Bell, PF, Oregon
The Portland Blazers traded for Jusuf Nurkic during the season and it was an absolute game-changer. Nurkic became a stud in the middle of the floor and was an extra offensive weapon for the Blazers. Defensively, the big man isn’t giving Portland what it needs and so they’ll need to address it in the draft.
Who’s better in this NBA Draft in becoming a big man in a smaller lineup? Oregon’s Jordan Bell became a star in the NCAA Tournament as his energy and defensive performances were starting to turn games around for the Ducks.
During the season, Bell averaged 10.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. At 6-foot-9 and 227 pounds, the Oregon forward can be used as a five in smaller lineups against teams like Golden State. He has a high motor and passion for the game that’s unmatched.
Bell will likely be there when the Blazers pick at No. 26 and the Blazers should pull the trigger there. His offensive game isn’t as developed as you would like, but he can become a defensive stud and hide the flaws of a weak defense in 2016-17.
Why move the Oregon kid out of Oregon? Move Jordan Bell from Eugene to Portland, where he’d be a perfect defensive fit for the Trail Blazers.