Here is the third and final piece to my Portland Trail Blazers “What If” Draft. Enjoy!
2005
The Blazers Pick (#6 Err): Martell Webster SF, Seattle Prep HS
Best Available Player: Danny Granger SF, New Mexico (#17)
Effect-O-Meter: -4, I say this not because we missed out on Danny Granger, but because we traded the 3rd pick for Martell Webster. Deron Williams went 3rd and Chris Paul went 4th. We missed out on two big time point guards (especially CP3) that could have had major impacts on our franchise. Portland has to kick themselves for this one.
Honorable Mentions: Andrew Bynum, David Lee, anyone but Martell Webster (just joking Martell)
2006
The Blazers Pick (#4): Tyrus Thomas PF, LSU
Best Available Player: Rajon Rondo PG, Kentucky (#21)
Effect-O-Meter: 4, Huge asterisks! This may look bad on paper if you simply look at Tyrus Thomas and Rajon Rondo, but since trades weren’t considered in this, it makes it hard. This turned out to be great for Portland, they traded Thomas, and ended up getting LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy out of it. Aldridge has been a cornerstone of the Blazers ever since, and Brandon Roy was on his way to becoming one of the best SG in the game until his knees unfortunately gave out. This is one of the best draft day moves the Portland Trailblazers have made in a long time, but it was followed by one of the worst.
Honorable Mention: Rudy Gay, Kyle Lowry, Paul Milsap
2007
The Blazers Pick (#1): Greg Oden C, Ohio State
Best Available Player: Kevin Durant F, Texas (#2)
Effect-O-Meter: -5, Let me start by saying that 29/30 GMs said they would have taken Greg Oden with the number one pick, OKC being the one GM that said he wouldn’t have. Although this wasn’t considered a reach, it turned out to be a HUGE downfall for Portland. A core of Aldridge, Durant and B-Roy would have been something to watch, and who knows what would have happened to #7 if Durant was there to take the load off. This might have stopped us from getting Lillard, but we might not have needed him had that three gotten together. A very big “What if.”
Honorable Mention: There were some, but Kevin Durant is what we missed out on here, and that’s what should be focused on.
2008
The Blazers Pick (#13): Brandon Rush SG, Kansas
Best Available Player: Serge Ibaka PF, Congo (#24)
Effect-O-Meter: 2, This is another tricky one. Portland traded around 2 billion times in this draft. Ultimately they landed Nic Batum, who is still the starting SF here in Rip City 6 years later. This isn’t something that will be remembered as a huge franchise altering move, but it definitely helped the Blazers and Batum is far better along than Brandon Rush.
Honorable Mention: Deandre Jordan, JJ Hickson, Goran Dragic
2009
The Blazers Pick (#22): Victor Claver SF, Spain
Best Available Player: Taj Gibson PF, USC (#26)
Effect-O-Meter: -2, The reason this ranks low is for a couple different reasons. First off, no offense to the diehard Claver fans out there (because I’m sure there are some), but Victor Claver is terrible. He might be skilled, but he gets bullied around the court more than a 9 year old fat boy with glasses, braces, and headgear does on the playground. Second, and maybe most important is the fact that we have been desperate for a back up big man for a few years now, and Taj Gibson is exactly the kind of guy we could use. If the Blazers had Taj Gibson last year, they may have been able to push the Spurs a little more, that one kind of hurt Portland.
2010
The Blazers Pick (#22): Elliot Williams SG, Memphis
Best Available Player: Lance Stephenson SG, Cincinnati (#40)
Effect-O-Meter: -1.5, Lance Stephenson has developed in to quite the blower..err.. I mean player, he provides defense and has an above average scoring capability. There are only a couple problems with him, which is why the Effect-O-Meter wasn’t in the -2- -2.5 range. One, he has been rumored to create some chaos in the locker room, the Blazers have a great locker room right now and I’m sure they would prefer it stay that way. Last but not least, Lance doesn’t want to be a bench player anymore, he wants starter minutes, and I’m not sure there is anyone that the Blazers have now who they would want to replace with him.
Honorable Mention: Greivis Vasquez
2011
The Blazers Pick (#21): Nolan Smith PG, Duke
Best Available Player: Kennneth Faried PF, Morehead State (#22)
Effect-O-Meter: -2, This is actually the first time I’ve realized that Kenneth Faried was still on the board when we picked. Wow, now I’m upset. Kenneth Faried has turned out to be an amazing basketball player, and one that anyone would love to have on their team. He could fill the 6th man spot perfectly on the Blazers, logging 20-28 minutes a game as a spark off the bench. This one hurts the Blazers, and since it is the first time I’ve seen it, it hurts me a little too.
Honorable Mention: Chandler Parsons, Reggie Jackson, Isaiah Thomas
2012
The Blazers Pick (#6 From Brooklyn): Damian Lillard PG, Weber State
Best Available Player: Damian Lillard PG, Weber State
Effect-O-Meter: 4, This could turn into a 5 if Damian Lillard keeps progressing at the rate we have seen in his first two years. He looks to be the savior of Rip City after the unfortunate Brandon Roy events. Lillard has extreme poise, he’s injury free (knock on wood) and he does it all exceptionally well on and off the court (except defense, he will get there though). There is no one outside of Anthony Davis that I would have rather picked in this entire draft, and that is still a debatable choice. Lillard somewhat saved us, and we essentially got him in exchange for an aging Gerald Wallace (thanks Brooklyn).
2013
The Blazers Pick (#10): CJ McCollum PG, Lehigh
Best Available Player: Michael Carter-Williams PG, Syracuse (#11)
Effect-O-Meter: -2.5, This is actually a huge miss in the draft so far. I will admit, I was a huge CJ fan, the guy single-handedly beat Duke in the NCAA tournament, and he looked like he could score with the best of him. His first year was plagued by injury, and he looks a little slow out there to be honest. Portland has also been in dire need of a backup PG to play behind Damian Lillard, and MCW could do just that. One might think that MCW doesn’t belong on the bench, but with his height and length he would get both PG and SG minutes, which would have allowed him to play a solid 25-30 minute bench role every game. If CJ doesn’t step it up soon, this could look like a big miss in the near future.
Honorable Mention: Kelly Olynyk, Tim Hardaway Jr.
2014
The Blazers had no picks in this 2014 draft, they made no trades in the draft either, so there is nothing to discuss with them here. I will say this though, this was not the draft to have 0 picks in, as it seems to be quite deep (Gary Harris dropping to 18, you kidding me?)
Now that I have laid out every draft pick and all the “what if’s” for the Portland Trail Blazers since 1984, outside of learning that the Spurs are probably the best late pick drafters ever (Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili) I have found that for the Blazers, it seems like there have been more misses rather than hits, but a couple of the hits we have had have been huge (2006, 2012); in all reality, you only need a couple big hits every 10 years to build a solid foundation. Which drafts are most cringe-worthy to you Rip City? Are there any drafts that really stand out and make you wonder “what if”? That will probably be it for basketball for a couple months, but lets bring on the NFL season and worry about the “what ifs” at a later time.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
