NBA Draft 2017: Trail Blazers take Zach Collins at No. 10
By John Buhler
The Portland Trail Blazers trade with the Sacramento Kings to take Gonzaga Bulldogs center Zach Collins with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
The Sacramento Kings initially had the No. 10 overall pick from their trade with the New Orleans Pelicans for former franchise center DeMarcus Cousins. Sacramento had two picks in the top-10 of the 2017 NBA Draft, but have traded the No. 10 pick to the Portland Trail Blazers. On behalf of Portland, the Kings selected former Gonzaga Bulldogs center Zach Collins.
Collins was a backup big man for the national runner-up in his lone year at Gonzaga. He averaged 10.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists in his one year as a collegiate. Collins will join a rebuilding frontcourt in Portland with the likes of Jusuf Nurkic and Meyers Leonard.
Collins is considered to be more of an upside pick at this time than anything else. He could have seen his draft stock climb even higher had he stayed a second year in Spokane at Gonzaga. However, he had been tabbed as a lottery pick almost from the jump.
Don’t expect Collins to see much playing time in Portland right away for several reasons. The Trail Blazers want to see what exactly they have in Nurkic, who they traded for with the division rival Denver Nuggets near the deadline. Portland should be a playoff contender anyway. However, Collins is a young raw talent that Trail Blazers general manager Neil Olshey was comfortable trading up to get.
Portland had three first round picks in this draft. The Trail Blazers sent picks No. 15 and No. 20 to Sacramento for Collins’ draft rights. Sacramento needs players and Portland probably needs to stash a player this year to offset limited salary cap constraints.
Next: FanSided 2017 NBA Draft Tracker
Since Collins was a lottery level pick, one that Portland didn’t have at No. 15, it was in the best interest to move up to No. 10 to get their guy. It’s not a bad deal if Sacramento nails either No 15 or No. 20 in a few minutes.
Check out Rip City Project for more Portland Trail Blazers NBA Draft analysis.