Portland Trailblazers Draft Review

Current Roster
PG: Damian Lillard/Shabazz Napier
SG: CJ McCollom/Allen Crabbe
SF: Moe Harkless/Evan Turner/Pat Connaughton
PF: Al-Farouq Aminu/Jake Layman
C: Jusef Nurkic/Zach Collins/Ed Davis/Meyers Leonard/Noah Vonleh/Caleb Swanigan/Festus Ezeli

2017 Free Agents
Unrestricted
None

Restricted
None

Who They Drafted
1-10 Zach Collins, C Gonzaga
1-26 Caleb Swanigan, C Purdue
Despite already having five players on their roster who can really only play center effectively in the modern NBA, the Trailblazers drafted two more players that are probably limited to playing center only. The first player they drafted, Zach Collins, the Blazers traded up to get (moving 15 and 20 to get 10), a good prospect that makes sense as a backup/insurance policy for Jusef Nurkic, the player that turned the Blazers season around last season. Collins has a lot of potential, he is a good athlete that moves well, blocks shots, rebounds, and can shoot a little from the outside. Though he has all this potential, Collins still needs some refinement as well, he is foul prone and doesn't alway play up to his potential. Also, though he has shown three-point range, Collins shouldn't be considered a knock-down shooter yet. Again, drafting a straight backup (due to roster construction) after trading up, with a top ten pick is questionable but at least defensible when you consider how important Nurkic was to them, however when you already have so many centers on the roster and don't have any money to improve their areas of your team that need improvement.
To make matters more confusing, the Blazers drafted another player who, unless he makes changes to his body and becomes more athletic, will be a five in the modern NBA as well. Caleb Swanigan was one of the best players in college basketball last season, averaging over 18 points and 12 rebounds a game while also making 44% of 85 three-pointers last season. Swanigan isn't that good of a shooter, but it should still be a weapon for him, as is his ability to get deep position and score in the post, though length and athleticism may give him a little bit of trouble and he can be quite turnover prone. There are reasons to be optimistic about his offense, as he can draw big men out of the paint with his jumpshot and abuse smaller defenders in the post. Swanigan is also a monster rebounder, a natural that knows how to throw his big body around on both the offensive and defensive glass. Where the issue comes in, and why it is unlikely Swanigan is anything but a center is his lack of athletic ability and poor footspeed, which will limit his ability to defend on the move and also severely limits his rim protection (Swanigan blocked only 36 shots in his 2014 college minutes). As a backup center in the mold of a (healthy) Jared Sullinger, Swanigan could be a longterm NBA rotation player, but on the Blazers I don't know when he plays or how effective he will be.

What They Need Going Forward
The Blazers need to get rid of their bad contracts and logjam at center, though it will cost them to do so, so much so that they'll might easily just roll into the season with their current roster. If they do find money to spend or get good deals, they could use another backup point guard and a wing that can shoot the ball.

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Draft Review: Portland Trail Blazers

First Round 

C.J. McCollom, SG Lehigh (10)

The Blazers had a solid starting lineup for the most part last season, but their bench was terrible. C.J. McCollom will instantly upgrade that and give them a real scoring punch off the bench. He is more of a combo guard than Damian Lillard, but he can be the backup point and shooting guard as well as playing alongside but Lillard and Wes Matthews. I expect McCollom to be in the running for Rookie and Sixth Man of the Year next season.

Second Round

Allen Crabbe, SG California (31)

Crabbe is another upgrade to the Blazers bench who should contribute from day 1 as a scorer and shooter off the bench. Crabbe will give them a player who can run of screens as well as spot up and space the floor. He also has all the physical tools to be a good defense, but his attitude and effort on that end is poor, which may have contributed to his fall out of the first round.

Jeff Withey, C Kansas (39)

The Blazers seem to want to move on from J.J. Hickson, so Jeff Withey will likely be able to find minutes in a backup role, provided Meyers Leonard is able to start. Withey can really block shots and is a decent rebounder, but that is about it. He can be a productive backup center, but with little upside.

Marko Tordorovic, SF Serbia (45)

The Blazers can't afford the roster spot of another player on the current roster, so they took a player to stash overseas who could help down the line. Tordorovic isn't very athletic, but he plays really hard and can score in the post some. He needs to improve his perimeter skills and defense to make it in the NBA however.

Projected Rotation

PG: Damian Lillard/C.J. McCollom

SG: Wesley Matthews/Allen Crabbe

SF: Nicolas Batum/Will Barton

PF: LaMarcus Aldridge/???

C: Meyers Leonard/Jeff Withey

What Will The Blazers Do at #10?

Shabazz Muhammad, SG UCLA Fr. (6-6, 222)

With the exception of center, the Blazers are pretty well set with their starting 5, and they just spent a lottery pick on a center, Meyers Leonard, last draft. It's depth at all positions that the Blazers need, their bench was one of the worst in the league last year. Muhammad would give them a scoring punch off the bench and the ability to play small, with Nic Batum at power forward and LaMarcus Aldridge at center. 

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG Georgia So. (6-6, 204)

Though Will Barton showed flashes for the Blazers last season, they could still be looking for depth at shooting guard. The one problem here is that Caldwell-Pope's skill set really duplicates that of Wes Matthews, a shooter and defender. The Blazers might want to find a guard that compliments Matthews better of the bench. 

C.J. McCollom, SG Lehigh Sr. (6-3, 197)

C.J. McCollom might be that guard, his slashing and overall scoring repertoire would be nice change of pace behind Matthews off the bench. The Blazers bench really struggled scoring, something bringing in McCollom could really help. Give him the ball and tell him to get buckets and you have a potential Sixth Man of the Year in McCollom.

Cody Zeller, C Indiana So. (7-0, 230)

The back up to Aldridge by seasons end was Joel "9.37 PER" Freeland, so the Blazers should really be looking for front court depth. Zeller is polished, skilled and should be able to provide some scoring and rebounding off the bench and even close out games with Aldridge at center.

Steven Adams, C Pittsburgh Fr. (7-0, 255)

Even though the Blazers took Leonard last draft, he didn't exactly set the world on fire in his first year, so the Blazers may look to upgrade. Adams has the exact same issues as Leonard, physically gifted: big, long, long and mobile, but  also very very raw offensively. If the Blazers expect Adams to be much better than Leonard, they'll be disappointed.