The Portland Trail Blazers have not been blessed with the best draft position since they began rebuilding their franchise at the end of the Damian Lillard era. Three straight seasons of lottery picks have yielded interesting players, but nobody of the “no-brainer” variety like first-overall pick in 2023 Victor Wembanyama or presumed 2025 headliner Cooper Flagg.
Evaluating recent drafts is perilous even under the best of circumstances. NBA players often take 4-5 years to develop fully. More so when a team fancies wildcards like Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson, athletic guards whose ceilings seem boundless but who also need some work in order to assimilate to the professional game.