Portland Trail Blazers Have Options With 2nd Round Picks

The Portland Trail Blazers have plenty of assets to improve their team this offseason. With the 10th pick in the first round of the draft, the front office will have the choice to add a young player with potential or trade the pick awa­y­­­ for an established player. However, the Blazers also have three second round picks, thanks to the Courtney Lee trade between Houston and Boston.

These picks should not be overlooked. Because second round draft picks do not receive guaranteed contracts, the Blazers can gamble on raw talent before making a decision to add the player to the roster. Also, there is incredible value in second round players, as their contracts will pay around half a million a year.

Blazers GM Neil Olshey did a fantastic job selecting Will Barton in the second round last year. Barton showed flashes of talent in the late stages of the season, and his ceiling is incredibly high. This season, Barton has the possibility of stepping up his game and giving the Blazers a viable scoring option off the bench.

With the 39th and 40th picks, Portland should go after any player that has unexpectedly slipped down the draft boards. Their current roster has so little depth that the team should go after the best player at this spot. With any luck, a player with plenty of upside, such as Archie Goodwin, Allen Crabbe, Lucas Nogueira, or Gorgui Dieng will still be available.

With the 45th pick, the Blazers should gamble on ultra-athletic guard DJ Stephens. According to ESPN's Chad Ford, Stephens recorded the highest vertical leap (46 inches) ever in the NBA. The senior from Memphis is incredibly raw and is not projected to be drafted. However, his big-time athleticism will catch the eye of many teams. The Blazers should also draft him because he fills a positional need at the scoring guard position and was a good 3 point shooter (36%) and defender in college (2.6 bpg).

In this year's seemingly weak draft, the Blazers will have a hard time trading away their second round picks for an established veteran player. And while there won't be gems like Marc Gasol or Manu Ginobli available, the Blazers can still add a player with high potential to the team.